Govt to appoint controversial ambassadorial candidates

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Despite objections from the House of Representatives, the government will go ahead with its appointment of senior diplomat Abdul Irsan to the strategic ambassadorial post in Tokyo.

Sources at the State Palace told The Jakarta Post on Monday that Irsan's inauguration had been delayed because the Japanese government had yet to send a letter of agreement on the senior diplomat's selection.

"We are still waiting for an answer from the Japanese government," the source said.

Irsan, who was posted in the Netherlands, was rejected by the House on the grounds that as a civil servant, he was nearing his retirement age of 55 years. Apart from Irsan, another seven candidates were also considered inappropriate by the House.

The amended Constitution requires the House's consideration in the appointment of the country's envoys by the President. This has prompted the House to grill candidates to fill the position of ambassador.

The source said that if the agreement letter had arrived sooner, Irsan would have been sworn in along with 20 other ambassadors on Monday.

Another important post at the United Nations permanent representatives in New York also remains empty as the House has yet to approve the appointment of diplomat Rezlan Izhar Jenie, who the House has objected to because he is considered too young.

"The latest report we received said that the House finally endorsed the appointment of Rezlan, despite his age," a source at the foreign ministry said.

Irsan and Rezlan were among the 26 candidates quizzed by the House in June, with eight of them rejected for various reasons, mostly related to age.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said after the ambassadors' inauguration at the State Palace that the government would wait for the House's reconsideration in regarding the appointments.

"There are 17 ambassadorial posts that remain empty, and the government has chosen to let everything cool down before moving on with the appointments," Hassan said.

He brushed aside speculation that the selection process of envoys had become a contentious issue between the House and the government.

"The House gives its considerations and the government will consider them," he said, without further elaboration.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated 20 envoys, filling more than half of the 37 vacant ambassadorial posts around the world.

On Monday, the minister also confirmed that his office had sent Indonesian Ambassador to Singapore Johan Syahperi home, due to a financial report issue.

"There was no corruption, only irregularities that happened. We are still waiting for verification from the ministry's internal auditor," he said.

The State Audit Agency (BPK) published a report of the irregularities occurring in the budgets of the Indonesian embassies in Beijing and Singapore.

Johan was recalled on Aug. 1, after serving in Singapore about two years in place of Lt. Gen. (ret) Luhut Panjaitan.

When asked whether he was going to recall Ambassador A.A. Kustia from Beijing, Hassan answered: "No, it is a different case between the two embassies."

He said legal steps may be taken against Johan pending the outcome of a verification by the ministry.

"We cannot say whether we are going to press charges against him or not, as we are waiting for the results of the verification," he said.

The government has yet to name a replacement for Johan, but Hassan said the matter would be settled as soon as possible.