How news ministers reacted on calls from President

How news ministers reacted on calls from President

JAKARTA (JP): For anyone, the news of being honored with a
cabinet appointment is a day to remember.

But the initial shock of being told of the heavy
responsibilities about to be placed on one's shoulders can come
at the oddest time. Then it is compounded further by the fact
that the individual sometimes cannot reveal such a breaking news
item to even the closest relative.

Tanri Abeng, who was appointed the state minister of state
enterprises was driving in his car to game of tennis when
President Soeharto phoned him on his mobile phone last Sunday.

"I was a bit surprised and nervous when the President asked my
whereabouts. I said I was going to play tennis. The President
then explained that he had given me the difficult job of handling
state companies affairs," he said.

"I said I'll do my best, Pak. The conversation was very
brief," Tanri said.

Tanri, who has two adult sons, said his family was ignorant
when it cam to politics and they were a bit worried that his
appointment would make him involved in politics.

"I said I only know management. If my work requires me to be
involved in politics I will refer to the President," Tanri
recounted telling his family.

"I'm glad that I am part of a historical process. That I'm the
first minister for a new post. (But) I still have no idea where
my new office will be," he said.

"I guess I will have to release all my positions in the
business sectors."

In Bandung, West Java, Wiranto Arismunandar, actually slammed
down the telephone the first time Soeharto called.

"It was last Sunday afternoon. It was raining and I was just
lazing about the house, when I heard the phone ring. I picked it
up but the reception was so bad that I could only faintly hear
the person on the other end," Wiranto said.

Mistake

After calling out several times without getting a proper
answer Wiranto decided to hangup. But he quickly realized that it
might have been a mistake since he remembered distantly hearing
someone saying "Pak Harto" during the conversation.

Fortunately several hours later, after the rain stopped, there
was another telephone call and this time Wiranto was sure who was
calling.

Kuntoro Mangunsubroto, the new minister of mines and energy,
had a very embarrassing incident regarding his first call with
the President, whom he said called his residence at the Kalibata
Indah housing complex, South Jakarta, at 6 a.m.

"I was not familiar with the voice and asked 'Who are you?'.
The President laughed and said 'Don't you recognize my voice?'.
Confused, I asked for his telephone number. When he told me his
telephone number, I instantly said,'I'm sorry, Pak. I'm really,
really sorry," the father of five said, quite mortified that he
could make such a mistake.

"My appointment took me by surprise because I thought my
career was finished after my dismissal from the directorate of
mining," Kuntoro said, referring to his dismissal from the
director general post after the Busang gold hoax last year.

The new minister for forestry and plantation, Sumahadi, nearly
did not get his call at all because his telephone was out of
order.

He said that Soeharto's assistant had tried to contact him for
about one hour before the assistant phoned the outgoing minister
of forestry, Djamaludin Suryohadikusumo, to get Sumahadi's other
phone number.

"It was 7 a.m when Pak Harto asked If I'm willing to help him
manage Indonesian forests. He said that I would get a heavier
burden because my office would also supervise the directorate of
plantation (formerly under the ministry of agriculture). I told
him that as a civil servant, I'm willing and ready to help him,"
Sumahadi, the former director general of inventory and forest
land use said.

Secret

But Sumahadi did not tell his wife, Retno, about the phone
call. Retno actually heard about her husband's new job from other
director generals' wives. Her husband finally told her on
Thursday.

Sumahadi's house was full of joy yesterday morning after the
announcement of new cabinet. His family was busy receiving
guests, relatives and neighbors.

Sumahadi and his family were one of the many named by the
President yesterday who seemed ready to handle the mass of
attention that would befall them as public figures.

While some chose to face the spotlight calmly, others
apparently chose to hide.

Juwono Sudarsono was ready yesterday to receive journalists
who had predicted that the soft-spoken former University of
Indonesia professor would be called by President Soeharto.

Juwono's wife, Priharumastinah, and his two sons, gave him
hugs and kisses once his name was read out by the President.

Casually dressed in a violet Polo shirt and cream trousers,
Juwono said President Soeharto had called him at 6 a.m. Sunday
morning as he was doing some stretching exercises.

"The President told me to keep the information to myself for
the time being, which I did until last night (Friday), when I
told my wife and children about it," he said.

Unlike Priharumastinah, the wife of the newly appointed
minister of religious affairs Muhammad Quraish Shihab, Fatmawaty
Ali Assegaf, said she found out about his husband's appointment
from journalists.

"He only told us yesterday afternoon when the children asked
him after journalists had called to ask for his comment," she
said.

Meanwhile people working at the residence of newly appointed
minister of information Alwi Dahlan's house were also rather
oblivious to the fact that someone in their household would be
named a minister.

When The Jakarta Post inquired about Alwi whereabouts, the
call taker said Alwi and the family had gone to Bogor, some 60
kilometers south of Jakarta, early in the morning.

"Do you know that Pak Alwi will be named minister?" asked the
Post.

"No I didn't know," was the reply and shouting could be heard
in the background: "Hey, quick turn on the TV. Bapak is going to
be named minister!"

President Soeharto's announcement was broadcast live on all
stations.

Kisses

Hugs and kisses are usually the order of the day for such a
big announcement and yesterday was no different.

Justika Sjarifudin Baharsjah said that she was very surprised
when President Soeharto appointed her to replace her husband as
the minister of agriculture.

She said that Soeharto phoned her at 5 p.m at her house last
Sunday and asked about her readiness to be the minister of
agriculture.

"It never cross my mind that I will replace Bapak (Sjarifudin)
in that position. But I'm glad that I've been given something
I've been involved in for 35 years," she said.

Justika, a mother of two, is a lecturer at Bogor Agricultural
University. She is known as a noted agronomist.

Sjarifudin said that he immediately kiss and hugged his wife
after the President officially announced Justika yesterday.

A big kiss on both cheeks from his daughters was what foreign
minister Ali Alatas got as the President mentioned his name on
television.

Sitting cozily on a couch, accompanied by his wife and all of
his three daughters, Alatas calmly smiled when President Soeharto
mentioned his name as one of the members of the new cabinet.

"I was notified by President Soeharto over the phone on Monday
at dawn," Alatas told reporters at his official residence in
South Jakarta.

For most people, having one's parent named minister is a proud
moment but for Abdul Latief, who was appointed minister of
tourism, art and culture, it meant that the hardship of public
life would continue.

"My children wept upon hearing the news of my appointment. All
my children and my relatives did not agree with me. One of my
children asked me 'Dad, what are you looking for?' I told her
that I wanted to respond to the nation's call and I view my
appointment as a devotion to this nation," Latief recounted.

He explained that as minister of manpower, his family was
subject to much anguish, given either from official duties or the
media scrutiny.

"I had to work overtime, many times I had to sleep in the
office," he said.

Sacrifice

Fuad Bawazir, the new minister of finance, while being
thankful at the trust put on him immediately realized that both
he and his family would be called on to make a sacrifice.

Fuad said President Soeharto called on March 9 at 6:30 a.m.
After he put down the phone, Fuad told his wife, who was next to
him.

"I told my wife who sat besides me by the phone that it will
be more office hours."

He said it would be a tough job because the country is facing
its worst ever foreign exchange rate crisis in the past 30 years.

Dressed in simple clothes, Fuad, his wife, and son, were in a
cheerful mood yesterday, and provided various local snacks for
their guests.

Surrounded by journalists, the family sat attentively in front
of a wide TV screen to watch President Soeharto announce the new
cabinet.

In Semarang, Central Java, Muladi was "attacked" with kisses
by his wife, four daughters and four grandchildren as soon as
Soeharto announced his name as minister of justice.

Muladi, who apparently had been informed by the President on
Sunday, maintained his composure.

Tutty Alawiyah was having her scheduled Koran recitation
meeting at her home in Depok, West Java, when President Soeharto
read out her name as state minister of women's roles.

Knowing of the good news that was about to come she had
prepared a giant TV screen so that the 150 orphaned children
attending could enjoy the news together.

Even one of Tutty's children, who was confined to bed, had the
bed taken outside so as not to miss the excitement.