Kwik returns to the House

Kwik returns to the House

JAKARTA (JP): The return of former senior economics minister
Kwik Kian Gie to the House of Representatives was confirmed when
the legislature announced the new lineup of each of its nine
commissions on Tuesday.

However, protests by several legislators, including Priyo Budi
Santoso of the Golkar Party, marked the plenary session which
endorsed the changes made by the House following the recent
Cabinet reshuffle. The protesters claimed they had not been
informed beforehand about the rotation.

Kwik, who resigned as the coordinating minister for economics,
finance and industry days before the People's Consultative
Assembly's Annual Session early last month, was listed as a
member of Commission IX for finance and development planning.

The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan)
legislator is expected to inject new blood into the commission
which oversees the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank and
other financial institutions.

Before his appointment to the Cabinet in October last year,
Kwik was one of the deputy House speakers. But PDI Perjuangan
left his seat in the House vacant during his nine-month stint in
the administration of President Abdurrahman Wahid.

In the 58-strong commission, Kwik will join 17 fellow PDI
Perjuangan representatives, including Sukowalujo Mintorahardjo,
former deputy to the state minister of investment and state
enterprises empowerment Benny Pasaribu and noted financial
markets analyst Theo Toemion.

Benny had made a comeback to the House along with his former
boss and friend Laksamana Sukardi after the latter was dismissed
from the Cabinet and replaced by Rozy Munir in April.

Laksamana, whose removal from the Cabinet sparked controversy,
now joins Commission VIII for mines and mineral resources, which
will work with the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources and
the Office of the State Minister for the Environment.

Other commissions

Commission I deals with defense, security and foreign affairs.
It will partner eight government institutions, including the
Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the
Indonesian Military (TNI).

Commission II will work with the Ministry of Home Affairs and
Regional Autonomy, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, the
Attorney General's Office and the National Police.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Ministry of
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and the State Logistics Agency
(Bulog) will be the responsibility of Commission III for
agriculture and forestry.

The Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications,
Ministry of Settlement and Regional Infrastructure and the Office
of the Junior Minister for the Acceleration of Development in
Indonesia's Eastern Regions will be paired with Commission IV for
transportation and regional infrastructure.

Commission V for industry, trade and cooperatives is linked to
the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Office of the State
Minister for Cooperatives and Small Enterprises' Development.

Commission VI for religious affairs and national education
will watch over the performance of the Ministry of Religious
Affairs and the Ministry of National Education.

The Ministry of Health, the Office of the State Minister for
the Empowerment of Women, and the Ministry of Manpower and
Transmigration will work with Commission VII for health and
population affairs.

Golkar legislator Priyo protested to House Speaker Akbar
Tandjung, who presided over Tuesday's session, for not being
informed of the reshuffle in the House.

"I was never informed beforehand that I would be moved,"
Priyo, who was previously a member of Commission VIII for mines
and energy, said.

The Golkar faction has assigned the outspoken legislator to
Commission II.

Akbar, who also chairs Golkar, played down the discontent,
saying it happened because certain legislators felt sorry to be
leaving work which they enjoyed.

"It's not a question of somebody being angry because he has
been removed from a post in which money is easily obtainable,"
Akbar said, referring to commissions whose partners are wealthy
ministries. (jun)