Golkar studies Cabinet proposal

JAKARTA (JP): The Golkar Party will carefully evaluate the National Awakening Party's (PKB) proposal to reshuffle the governing cabinet and replace it with a new one consisting of elements from three political parties and the Indonesian Military (TNI), chairman Akbar Tandjung said on Tuesday.

"Golkar has never asked for seats in the cabinet. If Golkar is asked to join the quadripartite cabinet, it will have to evaluate and study just how far the new cabinet could effectively establish a solid government," Akbar, also Speaker of the House of Representatives, said as quoted by Antara.

PKB chairman Matori Abdul Djalil proposed on Monday that the current cabinet be reshuffled in mid-January 2001, when a number of cabinet ministers will resign.

Matori said the new cabinet should take the form of a quadripartite cabinet consisting of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), the Golkar Party, the PKB, and the TNI.

Akbar, however, said that Golkar would seriously study the proposal, hinting at the possibility that the proposal might have something to do with the plan by a number of cabinet ministers to resign.

Separately, political observer Azyumardi Azra said that the proposed quadripartite cabinet would be ineffective as long as the decision-making process in the cabinet remained unclear.

"Hypothetically, a quadripartite cabinet would be a powerful one, but, practically speaking, it is questionable because the cabinet's ineffectiveness has been caused by the President (Abdurrahman Wahid) himself," Azyumardi said as quoted by Antara.

Responding to Matori's proposal, Azyumardi who is also rector of the Jakarta State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN Jakarta) said the plan by several ministers to resign could not be dealt with by merely conducting a cabinet reshuffle.

"Reshuffling the cabinet will not settle the problems as long as the President has yet to start taking the necessary steps to create a conducive environment in the cabinet," he said, but did not elaborate.

He said one factor that had triggered a number of ministers to resign was that they felt ineffective as cabinet members because of the President's unclear policies and poor coordination.

"What the President needs to do is to create more transparent steps and policies. A quadripartite cabinet would also be ineffective if all decision-making processes continued to remain unclear," he said.

Azyumardi said the growing political tension across the country was in fact triggered by the President's maneuvers, policies and statements which elicited controversy and strong reactions from society.

He alleged that the conflict between the President and the House, conflict among the members of the political elite, and increasing tension in Maluku, Irian Jaya, and Aceh, all derived from the President's statements.

"As a result, the government's credibility, authority and legitimacy have declined, while the people's tendency to engage in violence and anarchy has escalated," he said.

When asked whether he was suggesting that President Abdurrahman Wahid should resign, Azyumardi said this was entirely up to the President.

"President Abdurrahman Wahid must reconsider the credibility of his government, and whether it can restore the public's trust," he explained.

He said that if the rumors that several ministers were to resign were true, it would be a heavy blow for the credibility of President Abdurrahman's government.

Meanwhile, political observer Affan Gafar said President Abdurrahman's survival would also be determined by the country's economic situation.

"The plan by several cabinet ministers to resign will also determine the survival of Abdurrahman's government," he said. (01)