Five names emerge for chief economic minister

Five names emerge for chief economic minister

By Reiner S

JAKARTA (JP): The main focus of attention in the impending
Cabinet reshuffle has been who will take the position of
coordinating minister for the economy, finance and industry.

So far, there are five names emerging as the popular
candidates. They include Indonesian Ambassador to the United
States Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, chief of State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) Rizal Ramli, Minister of Mines and Energy Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono, former economic minister Emil Salim and Kwik Kian Gie,
the current chief economic minister.

A source, however, said the list had been narrowed down to
between Dorodjatun and Kwik, who still has a good chance to
resume his current post although he recently tendered his
resignation to allow the President to freely reshuffle his
Cabinet.

Abdurrahman is expected to announce the new Cabinet some time
this week. Appointing the right person to become the chief
economics minister is seen as crucial, both for the future
political life of the President and the country's prospects for
economic recovery.

Many have said President Abdurrahman Wahid's first choice was
Dorodjatun, who is also a respected economist. But Dorodjatun has
been reportedly demanding certain "conditions" which might be
difficult for the President to fill.

Although many support the appointment of Dorodjatun because of
his strong economic expertise, critics have said his main
weakness was a lack of experience as an administrator.

Senior economist and former Cabinet member M. Sadli said the
position of the top economic minister must be filled by a person
who has a good relationship with all parties involved in the
Indonesian economy, including investors, creditors and
businesses.

"Dorodjatun has that criteria," Sadli said. "His Phd in
political economics is also an advantage," he added.

Both Sadli and Dorodjatun are alumni of the University of
Indonesia.

University of Gadjah Mada economist A. Tony Prasetiantono also
supports Dorodjatun.

"The chief economic minister must have a strong macroeconomic
knowledge and good relations with the international community,"
he said.

He added that the coordinating minister must also be able to
assure the President of which economic policies must be taken.
He said this was essential because of the President's weakness in
understanding economics.

"Dorodjatun should fill the chief economic position and Rizal
Ramli as finance minister (replacing Bambang Sudibyo)," Tony
said.

"Kwik would be more suitable as the state minister for
investments and state enterprises development because of his
strong microeconomic knowledge," he added.

He said Susilo would not be suitable for the top economic post
because he was not an economist.

Susilo, a retired army general, has also been rumored to
become the coordinating minister for defense and people's
welfare.

But support for Kwik has also been strong, particularly
because of his close ties with Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri and his strong integrity.

Kwik is also a senior executive in Megawati's Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the largest
political party in the legislature.

Abdurrahman has agreed to allow Megawati to be in charge of
the day-to-day running of the government. The President has also
said Megawati would be assisted by two coordinating ministers.

Umar Juoro, an economist at the Center for Information and
Development Studies (CIDES), said Kwik would be more appropriate
to handle the top economic minister post because he came from a
large political party, PDI Perjuangan.

He said a strong backing from a large political party would be
crucial for the coordinating minister facing the huge and
complicated task of restructuring and recovering the economy.

Umar said the main weakness of Dorodjatun was he had no link
to a strong political party.

"I think Kwik is suitable for the coordinating minister
position and Rizal Ramli as the finance minister because the
latter is close to Gus Dur," Umar said.

Kwik's critics, however, said Kwik had failed to live up to
expectations during the past 10 months in office. They also said
that Kwik had been too hard in dealing with the country's
business conglomerates, who still play a vital role in the
economy.

Kwik recently threatened to revise the debt repayment deal
signed by the previous administration with the indebted
conglomerates, saying it would only create losses to the state.

Meanwhile, Center for Strategic and International Studies
(CSIS) Pande Radja Silalahi said the coordinating minister should
be held by a senior economist to be able to make effective
coordination with other economic ministers.

He said the post should be given to Emil Salim, a senior
economist and former Cabinet member during the rule of former
authoritarian president Soeharto.