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)