Cabinet people

Cabinet people

Commonly, Indonesian Cabinet members throughout the years have
fitted a general stereotype. More often than not, these leaders
were highly educated Javanese male Muslims their 50s. They were
generally also officials, either from the bureaucracy, the Golkar
Party or its affiliates, or from the ranks of the military.

Any deviation from this stereotype is always a fresh break as
the nation comprises a much wider range of interests than this
stereotype reflects. In a widely diverse country such as
Indonesia, setting up a body of decision makers that more or less
reflects the nation's diversity is a smart first act of goodwill
from a president; indicating the leader recognizes differences
among the people and is willing to work with and for all of them.

The plurality reflected in the United Indonesia Cabinet
installed on Thursday should be welcomed. A dozen out of the 36
members are from outside Java, which increasingly became the
country's center of power under former strongman Soeharto,
accumulating ire from non-Javanese and leading to issues we are
all still learning to deal with.

The source of Cabinet members these days is no longer limited
to the boringly predictable sources of the "big Golkar family" --
the bureaucracy, party executives or the military.

Today, business representatives, academics and professionals
mix with bureaucrats, some former ministers, a handful of retired
military and police officers, and politicians in the new Cabinet.

Wider access to higher education has enabled presidents to
seek executive members from among the best-schooled of the
country's sons and daughters, and very few of the current members
are without a postgraduate degree.

However, of the ministers, only four are non-Muslims and four
are women -- the latter figure in keeping with the promise made
earlier by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Many people may understandably wish the Cabinet was more
representative of the country's minorities. One could also raise
criticism about the number of women, for instance, which could be
much higher; at least 30 percent in line with a United Nations
study recommending this as the "strategic minimum" of women in
decision-making positions internationally.

One could also lament the skewed age demographic of this
Cabinet, which has 25 members who are over 50. There is thus
little hope for the kind of fresh air in the executive here
brought about by younger ministers in neighboring countries, who
not so long ago raised eyebrows among gray-haired leaders of
Southeast Asia's regional bodies as they gently nudged at the
region's sacred creed of non-interference in other countries'
political affairs.

Nonetheless, the symbolic diversity in this Cabinet is a good
starting point to enable the President to become, as he said in
his maiden speech, a president "for each and every Indonesian."

This goal requires the ability and insight to look beyond the
political interests that bind him, interests which were already
evident in the Cabinet selection and which have raised questions
as to how much the President really cares about certain issues
affecting the majority of the people.

"To protect each Indonesian soul," as he also said, would mean
Susilo going repeatedly back to his notes when he toured the vast
country to hear as much as possible what the people wanted.

For the people have grown impatient with their lot and hold
high hopes of change despite repeated warnings against expecting
too much.

All eyes are now on the concrete short and medium-term plans,
which will soon be issued from each ministry. At the end of the
day, merit alone will be the sole judgment of this Cabinet and
its actions will overshadow the brief appreciation of its
novelty.