House Speaker joins calls for Susilo to shake up Cabinet

Ridwan Max Sijabat, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

House Speaker Agung Laksono has joined the chorus of demands for President Susilo Bambang to reshuffle his Cabinet in order to improve his government's performance.

"I am aware that the public demands for a Cabinet reshuffle are on the rise. People are pinning their hopes on the government and I would like to see this being responded to. The government will be unable to fulfill the people's expectations given the current situation. A new departure is necessary," Agung said after greeting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during the Idul Fitri festival at the State Palace on Thursday.

Agung said the President should reshuffle his cabinet to allow the government to speed up the implementation of the economic recovery program promised by the President during his election campaign last year.

Recent surveys conducted by the Indonesian Survey Circle and Kompas daily revealed dissatisfaction with the performance of Susilo's government after one year, especially his decision to hike fuel prices. Both surveys recommended that the President reshuffle his Cabinet in order to improve the government's showing.

Political parties supporting the government have also hinted at a Cabinet reshuffle, which they said would enable the President to make changes and improve public welfare.

Susilo has so far been tightlipped over a Cabinet reshuffle, although he has completed the evaluation of his ministers' performances.

The Prosperous Justice Party said recently that the President would reshuffle his Cabinet soon after Idul Fitri.

When asked about the urgency for a Cabinet reshuffle, Agung underlined that people were waiting not just for changes in the Cabinet, but also the government's performance.

"The President needs to reshuffle his Cabinet in order to boost his government's performance. Regarding who gets which portfolio, that's the President's prerogative," said Agung, who is also the deputy chairman of the Golkar Party.

He said his party had no idea about any new cabinet lineup.

But Agung suggested that the President not replace his economic team led by Golkar figure Aburizal Bakrie because the real problems lay in the legal, political and environmental fields.

Golkar recently proposed a swapping of posts among ministers, instead of a Cabinet reshuffle.

Another Golkar deputy chairman, Syamsul Mu'arif, denied accusations that Golkar opposed a Cabinet reshuffle, saying only that a small group in the party supported Aburizal's presence in the Cabinet.

"The demand for a Cabinet reshuffle is very strong in Golkar and as a major political supporter of the government, the party wants at least eight seats in the Cabinet," Syamsul said.

He added that the President should listen to the PKS's recent call for a Cabinet reshuffle. Without support from the Muslim-based party, the government would not have a majority in the House.

The PKS had recently threatened to withdraw its support for the government because of its unpopular policies over the past year, particularly its decision to raise fuel prices by an average 126 percent in October. The PKS agreed to increases, but said it was shocked by their eventual size.