Akbar: The sooner the Cabinet is reshuffle the better

JAKARTA (JP): House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung suggested on Wednesday any Cabinet reshuffle take place before the General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly in August, citing the urgency to solve the crucial problems facing the country.

"Because of the slow pace of the economic recovery and anticorruption moves, I think the sooner the better to shake up the Cabinet," Akbar said, adding that July could be the right time for a reshuffle.

He said an earlier meeting between himself, President Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) chairwoman and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Matori Abdul Djalil discussed the impending Cabinet reshuffle.

The meeting, which took place at Megawati's official residence, prompted speculation that ministers added to a reshuffled Cabinet would be drawn from PDI Perjuangan, Golkar and PKB.

Despite his advice, Akbar said it was up to Abdurrahman not to involve political parties in the process of the reshuffle. He also said those recruited to fill ministerial posts should have adequate capabilities, not simply proximity to the President.

Abdurrahman hinted on Tuesday he might conduct a major Cabinet overhaul in August. In a rare display of unity, all major political parties have shown support for the move and have promised to stay out of the President's way during the process.

However, constitutional law experts said the 1945 Constitution does not give the president complete freedom in selecting his or her ministers. They said Abdurrahman could not ignore the wishes of political parties, because ultimately the President must answer to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

One of the experts, Ismail Sunny, said due to the fact that the Constitution implies a "half presidential" system, Abdurrahman could not reshuffle his Cabinet without consulting with major political parties.

"(The Cabinet reshuffle) cannot be done without the support of the political parties which make up the MPR," Ismail told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.

Another expert, Bagir Manan, shared Ismail's opinion, saying there were certain understandings or codes Abdurrahman had to adhere to in executing the reshuffle. "The President has to honor certain ethics or gentlemen's agreements which led him to the presidency."

Political observer Kusnanto Anggoro also voiced caution, warning Abdurrahman that removing all political party members from his Cabinet would give the parties more of an opportunity to impeach him.

Speaking on the sidelines of a seminar here, Kusnanto said the move would allow political parties to wash their hands of the Cabinet's poor performance and hold Abdurrahman alone accountable for the Cabinet's failures.

"The political parties are either trying to escape from the administration's recent failures or consolidate their own people. But both options will finally target Abdurrahman's stepping down in August next year," he said.

He said the reshuffle would not guarantee an improvement of the Cabinet's performance because middle-ranking state officials under the ministers came from the former administration and had a different vision.

Kusnanto further asserted that Abdurrahman would only make "a rush decision" if he went ahead with his planned Cabinet reshuffle. Such a move, Kusnanto said, would further harm the President rather than benefit him.

Another political observer, Cornelis Lay from Gadjah Mada University, hailed the reshuffle proposal, saying it could create a more solid and effective Cabinet.

Cornelis said the new Cabinet should consist of people from those political parties which performed well in last year's general election in order to gain political legitimacy.

"It is very important to consider that political parties are allowed to form the Cabinet only if they can collect at least 51 percent of the vote to obtain political legitimacy," Cornelis said in Yogyakarta.

He said a PKB-Golkar or PKB-PDI Perjuangan combination in the Cabinet would be ideal because those parties formed the majority in the House of Representatives. (10/44/45/har/jun/dja)