Jostling and tossing, the making of the Cabinet
Meidyatama Suryodiningrat, Jakarta
It was not the best of starts. Stuttering and full of political jostling. For a selection process that began so positively and transparently a week earlier, key decisions were eventually compromised in the final hours before the belated Cabinet announcement.
The final lineup was certainly not what the President envisaged, but the fact that it did not overly displease anyone satisfied his goal of compromise.
Over one-third of the 36-member Cabinet are "political appointees" or those "rewarded" for supporting Susilo's presidential bid.
The selection of Alwi Shihab and Saifullah Yusuf, for example, are blatant political mediations to satisfy the old and younger guard of the National Awakening Party (PKB). With all due respect, Alwi's record does little to merit his place as a coordinating minister, while issues related to least developed areas has not been a subject Saifullah has ever been associated with.
Two key signals can be cited to describe the nature of compromise of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's United Indonesia Cabinet. The first was the nearly four-hour delay in the announcement, which could only be interpreted as the result of lengthy debate and negotiation. The second was Susilo's repeated remarks, even seconds before announcing the lineup, that it "would not get the support of every party or satisfy everyone".
It may have been overly ambitious from the start to have set such an early deadline for announcing the Cabinet. Susilo did not anticipate a late push by key party heads and his own vice president in those final hours. Very much in the shadow of Susilo over the past month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla thrust himself into the selection fray in the last few days.
The two held a 30-minute private debate ahead of the announcement to iron out choices in the final lineup. Animated and intense, there was clearly a point of contention that needed to be resolved. The details of the discussion remains a point of speculation, but clearly one of the most contentious issues was the character of the economic team.
Despite the strong support of the conservative Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), former coordinating minister for the economy Rizal Ramli was dropped at the last minute because of his perceived "anti-IMF" leanings which would have clashed with other preeminent individuals in the economic team. Under pressure of possible withdrawals, Rizal was dropped to sustain the economic team's outlook of being in the "internationalist stream".
The economic team as a whole seems to be moderate and nonpartisan. The presence of Mari E. Pangestu as minister of trade and Sri Mulyani Indrawati to head the National Development Planning Board will bring fresh insights to Cabinet meetings. Their ability to induce change is another question. Both are recognized economists, but have few allies in the bureaucracy and big business. Their inclusion in itself presented a bold move by Susilo to defy objections from PKS.
Minister of Finance Yusuf Anwar is an "old crack" who has the personal blessing of his predecessor Boediyono. However Yusuf has a reputation of being fiscally conservative at a time when the government is likely to increase public spending.
The biggest question has to surround the appointment of Aburizal Bakrie as coordinating minister of the economy, and Soegiarto as state minister for state enterprises.
Bakrie's reputation as a businessman remains somewhat suspect especially his business links in the Soeharto era. His selection -- like minister of manpower and transmigration Fahmi Idris -- was regarded as a reward for their political and financial support for Susilo's presidential bid.
Soegiarto, on the other hand, takes over an office whose function should by now be placed under the Ministry of Finance. His long affiliation with business conglomeration Medco and businessman-turned-politician Arifin Panigoro will be heavily scrutinized in the coming months.
Other points of contention in those final hours included a last minute bid to name an alternative to Hamid Awaludin as minister of justice and human rights, purportedly a Crescent Star Party (PBB) nominee. But it would have been difficult to elbow out Hamid given his close association with Kalla.
It is believed that last minute inclusions in the Cabinet included Minister of Health Siti Fadilah Supari who was chosen, apart from her professional experience, to also represent the Muhammadiyah lobby and boost female representation. Her name came out of the blue only after an urgent call to senior Muhammadiyah officials.
Representation of the Muhammadiyah-Amien Rais-National Mandate Party (PAN) groups became a delicate issue. Though originating from one stem, all three represent different political lobbies. The appointment of Bambang Sudibyo as minister of education and Hatta Radjasa as minister of transportation, for example, was not considered a PAN initiative but that of the personal recommendation of Amien Rais. All this, according to one party insider, relates to the brewing leadership struggle within the party.
Out of all the political parties involved, PBB should be the most satisfied. Not only did their chairman, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, become State Secretary but the party also attained two important posts -- the affluent Ministry of Forestry portfolio and the strategic Attorney General's Office.
Susilo's close confidants -- Widodo A.S., M. Ma'ruf, Rachmat Witoelar and Sudi Silalahi -- were included in the lineup with several safeguarding strategic posts for the President. Oddly Susilo's own Democratic Party was left largely out in the cold with few appointments from the party.
PKS too must be less than satisfied with their "share" of the pie, with only marginal posts such as the Office of the State Minister of Public Housing.
In the end, while the United Indonesia Cabinet is nothing to celebrate, it does not undermine hope. It is a Cabinet reflective of its author, full of concessions and indistinct.
The most worrying aspect is not its composition but the way it was drafted. Will this internal tugging and pulling be the means by which future decisions are made by the President? Furthermore, will these allied parties continue to interject in future policy decisions the way they haggled during the Cabinet drafting.
Though we now know the composition of the Cabinet, we still have to find out the mechanics and influence of the ministers within the Cabinet structure.
The presence of two councils -- on security and economics -- will likely change the dynamics of the working relationship. If Susilo does become a hands-on president, as forecast, the councils will serve as a medium for him to directly intervene and micro manage issues.
He and his trusted aides, through the councils, will be able to direct the thrust and trend of the ministries' work leaving the relevant ministers as mere implementors.
What may emerge is that certain ministers will be restricted to carrying out the directives of the council, while others will have power far beyond their immediate portfolio.
Just who these people are will emerge in the coming weeks.
A more intriguing question will be the role Vice President Jusuf Kalla plays in policy making. After engaging himself so intensely in the Cabinet's drafting, Kalla is clearly staking a claim not only as a deputy head of state, but also deputy head of government.
The author is a staff writer for The Jakarta Post.