Sat, 11 Aug 2001

Mega tells ministers to live up to responsibilities

JAKARTA (JP): Put aside personal interests and work together hand-in-hand for the sake of the country was President Megawati Soekarnoputri's message to "the country's best sons and daughters" whom she assembled in the Gotong Royong Cabinet.

During her address at the swearing-in ceremony at the State Palace, Megawati urged her ministers to take the name of the Cabinet to heart.

"It's not just the name of the Cabinet, Gotong Royong is the soul of Indonesia that should be sustained," the President said in an off-the-cuff speech.

Gotong Royong is the age-old tradition of mutual assistance commonly found in Indonesia's rural communities, where everyone contributes to and benefits from a common goal.

"I have made my choice from among the country's best sons and daughters, so I expect all my ministers to work hand-in-hand and absolve their personal interests so that we can emerge from the current crisis," the President said.

"I also hope that the public can support the government and share our difficult tasks ahead. I am certain that, with the help of the Indonesian people, we can return our country to earlier days," the President said without elaborating what she meant by "earlier days."

The 32-member rainbow Cabinet, announced by the President on Thursday, finely balanced professional and political party interests.

Market and public reaction to the lineup has generally been positive, however the critical post of attorney general, which was expected to be announced on Friday, was left pending without explanation.

While she made no reference to the previous administration, it was clear that Megawati was adamant on avoiding the repeated mismanagement and reported incoherence of the previous government under Abdurrahman Wahid.

During the drafting of the Cabinet, Megawati showed single- mindedness in her selection, refusing to be courted by political parties including her own Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Megawati, during the ceremony, warned her team that they only had three years to perform and would be immediately under the scrutiny of a critical public eye.

Ceremony

Once a rarity, which only occurred every five years during the Soeharto era, Friday's proceedings at the State Palace had become a common occurrence due to the frequent replacement and appointment of ministers by Abdurrahman.

The customary swearing-in ceremony saw the male Cabinet members dressed in sober suits and female members wearing traditional Kebayas as they lined up in accordance with their respective faith.

Three of them -- Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Purnomo Yusgiantoro, State Minister for Eastern Indonesian Development Manuel Kaisiepo and Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jacob Nuwa Wea -- are Catholic.

Bungaran Saragih is Protestant.

State Minister of Tourism and Culture I Gde Ardika is Hindu while State Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas chief Kwik Kian is Buddhist.

The remaining 26 are Muslim.

There was also a brief pause and mild confusion when National Intelligence Agency chief A.M. Hendropriyono was about to be sworn in as the presidential decree on his appointment had been misplaced.

It took about three minutes to find the misplaced document before the presidential decree could be read out.

The solemnity of the ceremony was repeatedly interrupted by mobile phones ringing as attending family members of the new Cabinet members had apparently forgotten to turn off their phones.

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Cabinet members and their spouses walked to the Merdeka Palace terrace for the official photograph with the President, her husband Taufik Kiemas, Vice President Hamzah Haz and his first wife Ismaniah.(dja)