Govt denies rumors of Cabinet reshuffle

JAKARTA (JP): The government denied on Friday there was about to be a Cabinet reshuffle amid strong speculation that Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Finance and Industry Kwik Kian Gie was about to tender his resignation.

But sources told The Jakarta Post that it took strong intervention from President Abdurrahman Wahid, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri and senior officials of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) to avert further disintegration of the Cabinet, formed just four months ago.

Apparently aware of the public speculation, President Abdurrahman, without even being asked, told journalists that there would be no reshuffle.

"There are a lot of questions on reshuffles. There is no reshuffle of the Cabinet. It was the media which made this (uproar)," the President remarked after having dinner with Gen. Wiranto at the latter's official residence on Jl. Denpasar Raya, South Jakarta.

Separately, State Secretary Bondan Gunawan explicitly said the President would not consider dismissing Kwik from his post.

Bondan confirmed that Abdurrahman received Kwik at his official residence of Merdeka Palace on Friday evening, but emphasized there was no discussion at all of Kwik leaving the Cabinet.

"No, it is not true at all. Pak Kwik will remain in the Cabinet. It is true that he met with the President this evening but they only discussed routine work," Bondan told the Post and Kompas at his office on Friday night.

Bondan said he would weed out those who spread the rumors as such talk was aimed at hampering the government's efforts to restore economic stability.

"I will seek out those responsible because they only want to create chaos," Bondan said.

Rumors of Kwik's impending resignation were linked to the alleged involvement of his son, Inghie Kwik, in negotiations for the acquisition of PT Humpuss Terminal Petikemas, the operator of the Koja container terminal at Tanjung Priok seaport, with Hutchison Port Holdings of Hong Kong.

Kwik himself was not available for comment, but sources told the Post that he considered resigning on Friday afternoon.

Sources confirmed that several meetings were held at the palace compound in the evening and involved Abdurrahman, Megawati, Kwik and foreign minister Alwi Shihab, who is a confidante of the President.

Kwik's change of heart was said to have been due to bidding from senior PDI Perjuangan officials and Megawati's own insistence that he retain his post as a strict party order.

Other sources remarked that Kwik finally agreed after there were assurances that the issue would not be used again to humiliate him.

It is believed that a "political threat" was sent out, warning of a political collapse of the Cabinet and party-wide opposition if a senior PDI Perjuangan Cabinet member withdrew from the Cabinet.

The controversy surrounding Kwik first emerged when State Minister of Investment and State Enterprises Development Laksamana Sukardi publicly castigated Inghie Kwik for his involvement in the sale of the Humpuss terminal.

Laksamana said Inghie had no right to sell the company as it was one of the debtor companies under the management of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

Both Kwik and Laksamana are senior executives of PDI Perjuangan.

Inghie has denied involvement in the sale, arguing that he, as an executive of The Asset Management Group of Indonesia, acted only as a consultant for Hutchison.

The intriguing developments of Friday evening were capped off by a unique visit by Abdurrahman, who personally visited Wiranto's residence for a home-cooked dinner.

Abdurrahman said he missed Wiranto and wanted to enjoy Uga's, Wiranto's wife's, cooking.

Apart from Wiranto, whom Abdurrahman suspended as Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security, also present was Lt. Gen. Djadja Suparman who will soon be controversially replaced as chief of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

"We did not touch any issues regarding TNI (the Indonesian Military) at all. We just exchanged jokes," Abdurrahman told journalists after dinner with Wiranto and TNI chief Adm. Widodo A.S. by his side.

Also present during the evening affair were Cabinet Secretary Marsilam Simajuntak, Bondan and Alwi Shihab.

Wiranto, his wife Uga and Djadja could not hide their feelings of comfort about the visit.

"I miss Pak Wiranto, as I have not seen him for a long time," the President joked. (vin/dja/prb/mds)