At least three envoy candidates disqualified

At least three envoy candidates disqualified

Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least three ambassadorial candidates have been disqualified
by legislators for their poor track record and lack of knowledge
about the countries in which they were soon to be posted.

The identities of the disqualified candidates, however, remain
a secret.

Some legislators confirmed that most of the 27 candidates
submitted by President Megawati Soekarnoputri to the House for
examination had insufficient knowledge to improve diplomatic
relations.

"It's hard to find eligible candidates. We have decided to
disqualify some of them and will return their names to the
government," chairman of House Commission I for security and
foreign affairs Ibrahim Ambong told The Jakarta Post on the
sidelines of a hearing with seven candidates here on Wednesday.

Ambong refused to mention the exact number of disqualified
candidates, but legislator Djoko Susilo said the commission had
disqualified three people.

Based on the first amendment of the 1945 Constitution, the
president should take into account the House's opinion.

House Commission I had started assessing the track records and
performance of each candidate on Monday, but until Wednesday only
14 of them had showed up for the fit-and-proper test.

They are, among others, Bachtiar Aly for Egypt, Sapartini
Kuntjoro-Jakti for Hungary, Sri M. Tadjudin for Sri Lanka,
Hardikun Supadar for Algeria, Amin Rianom for Turkey, Johannes
Gerson Djopari for Papua New Guinea, Albert Matondang for Fiji,
Hadromi Nakim for Kuwait, Suherman Obon for Syria, Syamsuddin
Yahya for Sudan, Ladjunis for Yugoslavia, Bintang Simorangkir for
Slovakia and Muhammad Jusuf for the Netherlands.

Comr. Gen. Ahwil Luthan, who is nominated to take the post in
Mexico, is expected to appear at the House on Thursday for a
hearing.

His nomination has been questioned because Luthan is currently
investigating the alleged smuggling of 83 luxury cars in which
fellow policeman Comr. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb has been implicated.

"We will reject this nomination if it is designed to prevent
the revelation of the smuggling," Djoko told the Post.

The opinion of the House in the nomination of ambassadorial
candidates was taken seriously into account by the President.

The current Indonesian Ambassador to Italy Freddy Numberi was
previously nominated to take the ambassadorial post in New
Zealand, but was moved following a recommendation from the House.

"We do not reject any nomination, we just give the President
our opinion," said legislator Slamet Supriyadi, who joined in the
examination team.

Ambong, Djoko and Slamet agreed that most of the candidates
had only limited knowledge and skill in diplomacy.

According to Djoko, the examination was based on the
competence, the integrity and the performance of the candidates.

Before undergoing a question-and-answer session, each
candidate had to present a 20-page paper, describing their view
and plan upon arrival at the host country.

"Unfortunately, most of them are unable to give a clear
agenda. Their papers are only a copied version of a travel
guide," Djoko added.