Boediono takes on economy

Boediono takes on economy

The Jakarta Post, Yogyakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a Cabinet reshuffle
on Monday aimed at boosting his government's economic performance
against a background of high inflation and unemployment.

The changes to the one-year-old Cabinet saw Boediono, a former
finance minister in the administration of President Megawati
Soekarnoputri, take over the coordinating minister for the
economy post, replacing Aburizal Bakrie, who was given a new
assignment as the coordinating minister for people's welfare.

As if to make amends for Aburizal's exit from the economics
team, the Golkar Party was awarded two ministerial posts in the
economics field, with Fahmi Idris being appointed as the new
minister of industry replacing Andung Nitimihardja and newcomer
Paskah Suzetta being given the chairmanship of the National
Development Planning Board replacing Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who
has been appointed minister of finance.

Fahmi's former post of minister of manpower and transmigration
has been given to Erman Suparno, the treasurer of the National
Awakening Party (PKB) loyal to Abdurrahman Wahid in a move seen
as facilitating a reconciliation in the party, and also possibly
securing the administration the support of the PKB.

Sri Mulyani, a former International Monetary Fund director,
moved to the finance ministry at the expense of Jusuf Anwar.

"I want the Cabinet to be more effective and coordinated,"
Susilo said in a televised speech from the Yogyakarta
presidential palace.

The new ministers will be sworn in on Wednesday.

However, nobody was to be allowed to leave feeling hard done
by, apparently, as Susilo said he would award consolation posts
to Alwi and Anwar, respectively as special envoy to the Middle
East and as ambassador in "an important country". But the
President said he was still looking for a position that suited
Andung.

A reshuffle in the government's economics team had been on the
cards ever since the President announced a plan to appraise the
record of his aides in October.

The government blamed ballooning fuel subsidy spending as a result of
skyrocketing world fuel prices for derailing its economic
programs. But analysts said it was the Aburizal-led economics
team's limp and tardy responses to a number of worrying trends
that spooked the markets.

"The government's public relations have also been lousy.
Officials often contradict one another, fail to explain
themselves, or project an air of confusion," The Economist said
in a September edition.

Susilo said he had completed the planning of the reshuffle on Dec. 1
without any interference from either political parties,
individuals or international donors.

"There were no such pressures. Instead, I have to thank the
political parties for respecting my prerogatives in this matter,"
Susilo said. "Neither did I bow to IMF pressure. I did not even
think about the IMF."

The President blamed the media for circulating sensational
reports and comments about the reshuffle, which he said were
"baseless" and condemned as "sparking public confusion".

He said he had completed the planning of the reshuffle on Dec. 1, but
it took him four more days to announce it as he had to
check the candidates' legal records with the police and the
Corruption Eradication Commission, and seek approval from their
respective political parties.

Commenting on the new economics team, Bank Mandiri chief
economist Martin Panggabean said the President's limited
reshuffle was in line with public expectations and his promise to
place the right men in the right jobs.

"There is actually nothing unexpected in the reshuffle," he
said. "My biggest fear was that the President would split the
office of the coordinating economics minister into one for the
economy, and one for industry and trade, which would not be good
for the economy."

Another economist said he had expected Boediono to also be
given the chairmanship of the National Development Planning
Board. But he hailed Susilo's decision to unite Boediono, Sri
Mulyani and Mari Pangestu in the same team as, he said, all
shared "the same ideas on the market economy."