Jostling and tossing, the making of the Cabinet
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.