Indonesia's new Cabinet and its challenges

The Vice President's involvement in decision-making and the treatment of the legislature as an equal partner of the government are among the prerequisites for ensuring a good performance by the Cabinet, says Jusuf Wanandi, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

JAKARTA (JP): At last Indonesia has an economic team that is united in itself and has President Abdurrahman Wahid's full support. This will allow the team to develop a coherent program for rehabilitating and restructuring the economy. It will also be able to implement this program because it is less likely to be subject to presidential intervention.

But two things have to be done in order to bring about success.

One is to get Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri completely involved in the decision-making process, particularly as regards the economy, mainly because there is no senior representative of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle on the team.

And her support is critical to get the government's program through the legislature, which has become very assertive and aggressive.

Second, due to the closeness of the team members to the president, they should refrain from engaging in any corrupt, collusive or nepotistic (KKN) activities. KKN has become enemy number one among the public, especially students and civil society, and there are accusations already (rightly or wrongly) of KKN-related activities among the President's coterie.

The team under Coordinating Minister for the Economy Rizal Ramli has had a good start, with confidence being inspired once again among local business and international financial institutions. The members of the team are considered as not being antagonistic to the business community and as willing to cooperate fully with the international financial institutions.

This distinguishes the new economic team from its predecessor which often had strained, even antagonistic, relations with business and the international financial institutions. Only if the economy moves again in a sustained manner, can income, employment and social safety net programs be developed.

Another important issue which must be dealt with seriously by the new Cabinet is regional conflict. This should be done through policy coordination when dealing with Aceh, Irian Jaya, Maluku, and problems along the border with East Timor.

After 10 months in power, the government has as yet no clear policies on these regional conflicts. There is a sense of drift in the government's ability to coordinate and implement policies, if indeed there are any.

The border problem with East Timor is the most immediate and urgent issue because of its direct international implications. The United Nations is still in charge of East Timor. The militias' continued operations in East Timor are unacceptable to the international community as well as to reformist forces within Indonesia itself. The militias have been able to prevent the return of a good part of the 100,000 refugees along the border and continue to infiltrate into East Timor so as to create turmoil and conflict.

In the case of Aceh, there does not seem to be anyone who is responsible for following up on the humanitarian pause and for putting the special status for Aceh into effect as decreed by the People's Consultative Assembly. There have been many efforts on the part of different agencies, including the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police, but there has been no clear plan nor any clear indication as to who is in charge.

The same is the case in Irian Jaya where support for independence among the people is becoming stronger, partly due to negligence and partly due to bad coordination.

The tragedy of the horizontal conflict in Maluku, where some elements of the Indonesian Military and the police are involved, is another demonstration of inadequate attention and policies on the part of the government.

With an effective coordinating minister in charge of political and security affairs (and people's welfare) now in place, the chaotic situation which has prevailed as regards resolving these conflicts, which have been so damaging for Indonesia's security image as well as its future territorial integrity, should be straightened out immediately.

A National Security Council should be established soon and should have a national crisis center to act as a vehicle for monitoring all regional conflicts. Effective policies should be developed by the Council and coordination and implementation should be undertaken with the support of the said center.

The President has overcome the political attacks against him in the Assembly due, in part, to his deft political maneuvers and, in part, to the support of the Vice President. She did not think it was a good idea to change presidents in mid-term as this would create a precedent. Seemingly, she was also personally unprepared to take over at this stage.

In addition, other political leaders and members of the elite understood that there was no consensus on ousting Abdurrahman, or Gus Dur, and, more particularly, on finding his successor.

As has been said above, however inadequate and irresponsible the members of the House of Representatives are, and there are a lot of them like that, it has to be recognized that they have a say in policy formation through legislation and the national budget.

Therefore, Gus Dur's efforts to overcome their animosity and to take them seriously as partners of the government is important for the democratic development of Indonesia, as well as for the success of the current government.