JP/4/SANTO

Should Megawati shake up her Cabinet?

Susanto Pudjomartono Editor-At-Large The Jakarta Post Jakarta

The traditional 100-day honeymoon is not yet over, but President Megawati Soekarnoputri's government is already on the receiving end of increasing criticism, both open and veiled, from various directions. Most of the criticism has centered on the way the government moves, which many consider as "slow", "vague", or "indecisive".

To a certain extent the criticism has validity. On some occasions the government has been slow in responding to certain issues, or has appeared inconsistent. But don't all new governments start their first few weeks in the first gear, only to move faster after some adjustment? After all Megawati is a relatively new political player; and given the magnitude of the mess that she inherited from the previous regimes, no new government would dare dream of being capable of solving it within a year or two.

Yet, from the very beginning many have expressed their apprehension over what they see as an indication of Megawati's "slow-motion" style when she took more than two weeks to form her Cabinet. But she was excused when later she said that it took "lengthy deliberation to choose more than 20 ministers from the 200 candidates" presented to her.

When the Cabinet line-up was finally unveiled, many sighed with relief; despite some dubious characters, most of the Cabinet members chosen were considered good. Some even praised the Cabinet line-up as a "dream team". And when President Megawati delivered her state address on Aug. 16, clearly outlining sound and realistic policy, public sentiment was quite positive and people looked ahead to rosy days.

For once, the "cowboy legislators from Senayan", notorious for causing headaches to the executive branch, were silent, leading people to think that the consensus on the political moratorium to support Megawati presidency until 2004 would work after all.

Then came Sept. 11. Everything has changed since then. What has begun is a global crisis of unprecedented proportions. The world economy is moving toward its worst recession. The pounding of war drums is in the air; terrorism is becoming the world's number one enemy.

A new paradigm in international relations has taken birth: Either you are with us (to fight international terrorism) or against us; with the United States as the leading actor. And then on Oct. 7 the U.S. and its allies started to attack Afghanistan's Taliban regime for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the terrorist acts.

The pros and cons of the U.S. action has divided the world, with most Islamic countries opposed to the attack; but given the U.S. might, few dare to air it openly.

With the world's biggest Muslim population, Indonesia is unavoidably dragged down into the quagmire. Although small in number, some hard-line Muslims have seized the opportunity to vent their anger and despair on what they perceive as years of deprivation and marginalization to launch an anti-U.S. campaign.

Hence, threats of "sweeping" of expatriates, anti-American rallies, and campaigns to boycott American products and even demands to cut diplomatic ties with the U.S., became daily events in Jakarta and other cities in the last couple of weeks.

And unfortunately the disproportional coverage of the media, both foreign and local, has aggravated the situation to the extent that Indonesia is pictured as a dangerous country to visit, causing hundreds of thousands of tourists to cancel their trips. While the economy, greatly dependent on the U.S., is already in tatters and buckling under years of crisis, feels the further pinch of a U.S. recession and is in danger of collapse.

The quality of a leader is best demonstrated when he or she is facing a crisis. Undoubtedly, the current crisis demands swift and firm action, sound decisions and of course strong leadership.

It is these qualities that many believe the current government is lacking. Critics said that the government has failed to show firm policy and actions when anti-U.S. rallies started to appear on the streets, encouraging other groups, even moderate ones, to join the rallies. And everybody knows that when the tide grows bigger, it is harder to stop it.

The government is also blamed for its failure in making the public aware that rallies against the U.S. and its allies would further hurt Indonesia's economy to the extent that it may totally collapse. In other words, the government has shown a poor sense of urgency in this worsening situation. The battle cry of "think of our national interests first" as declared by Coordinating Minister for Political Affairs and Security Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a few weeks ago is considered by many as too late to stop the flood, or to put sanity into the public mind.

A rift within the government is now coming into the open and the cracks on the wall became bigger when a number of Cabinet ministers in closed meetings reportedly complained that both Susilo and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti had "poor leadership". Surprisingly, very few critics reproached President Megawati directly for the current crisis and most put the blame on the two chief ministers

No wonder, some critics have lately joked that while the crisis deepens, certain ministers of the "dream team" are still "dreaming".

What should be done?

The situation is not beyond repair. There is no doubt that President Megawati is trying her best to manage the situation. But she needs all the help she can get. Revamping the Cabinet, although a sound option, seems to be the remotest option.

It would be better if the President exerted more direct power by depending less on the Coordinating Ministers. As some have pointed out, Megawati should insist that all important decisions should be taken during Cabinet meetings, not in coordination meetings led by the coordinating ministers.

Megawati should also beef up her advisory team by recruiting more experts, not only to get a second opinion on strategic matters, for example on Islam, but also as a means to reach out to wider communities which may strengthen her political base in the long term.

The past three months also shows that the government needs a capable and qualified spokesperson who can act not only as the most reliable checkpoint but also as the "real" mouthpiece of the President. Certain parties have nominated State Minister for Information and Communication Syamsul Mu'arif for this job. But many resent the memory of a bygone era of a minister of information during Soeharto's authoritarian rule.

As the first 100 days of President Megawati is drawing closer, and as the global and national crisis deepens it is obvious that she has to straighten out her Cabinet and take a more "I'm in command" role.