Gus Dur plans new moves on Cabinet

Gus Dur plans new moves on Cabinet

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid disclosed on Monday
his intention to reshuffle the Cabinet again, a move which he
claimed would take account of the demands of the major political
parties.

There was also an initiative to replace Indonesian Military
(TNI) top brass, but, it too, failed to materialize.

Through two of his three spokesmen, the President revealed
that he might take a major decision about the positions of
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli and Minister of
Finance Prijadi Praptosuhardjo in the Cabinet.

Spokesmen Adhie M. Massardie and Yahya Staquf contended that
the President's decision to reshuffle the economic team was being
taken mainly to appease the political parties' demands.

"And the main focus is how to optimize capability in the
ministries related to finance and economic affairs, because
problems in this sector are very huge and need serious
attention," Adhie said at Merdeka Palace.

Adhie also indicated that Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. and
Minister of Home Affairs and Regional Autonomy Surjadi Soedirdja
might swap positions.

When asked about a TNI reshuffle, Yahya said that the future
of TNI Commander Adm. Widodo would depend on the military's
preparedness for the special session of the People's Consultative
Assembly in August.

"About the TNI chief, the President is still evaluating how
far and how prepared TNI personnel are ready to anticipate
problems which might possibly rise during the MPR session," said
Yahya.

In the morning, the President summoned several ministers,
including Coordinating Minister for Political, Social and
Security Affairs Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar, Mahfud, Widodo and
Prijadi.

After his meeting with the President, Widodo chaired a closed-
door meeting at the Ministry of Defense. Attending the meeting
were Army Chief of Staff Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, Navy Chief of
Staff Adm. Indroko Sastrowiryono and Air Force Chief of Staff Air
Marshall Hanafie Asnan.

However, there was no official statement about the result of
the meeting.

Mahfud was the first to leak the Cabinet shake-up. "The
Minister of Finance might be replaced, possibly today," said the
outspoken minister.

Prijadi was visibly upset by Mahfud's remark, and said on a
different occasion, "Maybe the minister of defense himself might
be replaced."

Later in the day, Mahfud disclosed the plan to dismiss Rizal
and confirmed that the President had initially planned to change
the military top brass, but had canceled the plan after
considering the risks.

The minister, however, insisted that any delay in reshuffling
TNI top brass had nothing to do with the military's resistance.

"The President considers such a reshuffle among the military
could have a negative psychological impact on them," Mahfud
noted.

Late last month, the President dismissed Agum's predecessor,
Gen. (ret) Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Attorney General Marzuki
Darusman and Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Sarwono
Kusumaatmadja. He also shifted the position of three ministers.

The major political parties however, were not impressed with
the President's move and insisted they would go ahead with the
Assembly special session that would very likely discuss
impeachment of the President.

Arifin Panigoro from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) said Abdurrahman's maneuvers would only
worsen the country's political situation and could even trigger
the acceleration of the special session.

"The President should remember that none of his maneuvers will
change the constitutional process, and we will stick to the
special session," Arifin said.

He was speaking to the media after hosting a meeting between
leaders of major factions in the House of Representatives. Arifin
said the top legislators discussed the President's planned
reshuffle.

"We are anticipating the possibility of a Cabinet reshuffle, a
military shake-up and the imposition of a state of emergency,"
Arifin remarked.

When asked further about the parties' position, Arifin
replied: "Maybe if we thought about it logically, he (the
President) could not do such a thing, but somehow he can do
anything. We are paranoid about him." (dja/02/prb)