Golkar studies Cabinet proposal
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.
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