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.