Govt to appoint controversial ambassadorial candidates

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.