Alwi out to reshape ambassadorial picks

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign minister Alwi Shihab said on Thursday he would prefer non-career diplomats to occupy only between 5 percent and 15 percent of all ambassadorships abroad.

Speaking at a breaking of the fast gathering with members of the media, Alwi said about 33 percent of the 105 ambassadorial posts abroad were currently held by non-foreign ministry officials.

Alwi conceded that appointing ambassadors was the prerogative of the president, but he regarded the current allotment as unfair and likely to cause jealousy.

He said he would like to halve the number of non-foreign ministry ambassadors to about 15 percent.

"Hopefully at the end of Gus Dur's tenure five years from now we can even lower that to 5 percent," he added, referring to President Abdurrahman Wahid by his nickname.

Many important postings, particularly those considered strategic, have been occupied in the past by senior military officials.

The foreign minister said he had spoken to the President and Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Adm. Widodo AS about abandoning the "security approach" outlook in appointing ambassadors to postings in the Southeast Asian region.

Alwi said the President agreed to appoint Hadi Wayarabi, the Foreign Ministry's Director for Asia Pacific Affairs, as ambassador to Malaysia in the near future, which would make him the first Indonesian civilian ambassador in Kuala Lumpur.

Appointing ambassadorships is one of the president's prerogatives. Recent amendments to the 1945 Constitution demand that the president consult the House of Representatives in appointing Indonesian ambassadors and receiving foreign ones.

Former Indonesian ambassador to Australia Sabam Siagian expressed general approval for Alwi's proposals, but urged the foreign minister to review the 5 percent limit he set for non- foreign ministry ambassadors.

"Maybe it should be something like 20 percent," he said at the gathering.

He noted that several non-foreign ministry officials appointed ambassadors performed admirably and there were no grounds to immediately eliminate them from selection.

Sabam argued that future ambassadors would need greater skills and ability to meet increasing demands.

He also contended that applying a strict quota would lead junior foreign ministry officials to assume they held the overriding right to ambassadorial posts regardless of their professional merit. (04/mds)