Megawati rules out Cabinet revamp

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri rejected on Tuesday demands by her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) to reshuffle her one-year-old Cabinet, dismissing the proposal as a waste of time the government could not afford.

PDI Perjuangan secretary-general Soetjipto said the President, who also leads the party, never considered reshuffling her Cabinet.

"Because if we do (the reshuffle) in these conditions, it would take time to adjust and begin working, so when are we going to work?" Soetjipto quoted Megawati as saying during the party's weekly meeting on Tuesday.

"The President is continuing the previous administration, which has not completed its full five-year term," he added.

Soetjipto was referring to the administration of Megawati's predecessor, Abdurrahman Wahid, whose 22-month-long presidency ended with his ouster by the legislature in July 2001.

The next general election is scheduled to take place in less than two years time.

Despite the short time left this administration to complete its work, calls for a Cabinet reshuffle have been increasing, mainly from within the President's own party.

The PDI Perjuangan faction in the House of Representatives threatened on Monday to reject Megawati's 2003 budget proposal unless she replaced at least one-fifth of her 32-member Cabinet. The party controls the most number of seats in the House.

Analysts suspects PDI Perjuangan's threats are meant to increase the pressure on Megawati to allot party members more seats in the Cabinet.

The party has four members in the current Cabinet lineup: State Minister for State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi, Minister of Forestry Mohamad Prakosa, Minister of Manpower and Transmigration Jakob Nuwa Wea and State Minister of National Development Planning/Bappenas chairman Kwik Kian Gie.

PDI Perjuangan's faction chairman in the House, Roy B.B. Janis, fell short of naming the ministers his party considers unable to carry out their duties when he issued the party's ultimatum on Monday. But he said the government had failed to manage properly the country's economy and political affairs.

Critics have said the government is doing too little to help people at the grassroots level, who are suffering economic hardship. This, they say, might come back to haunt PDI Perjuangan in the next general election, considering that the grassroots vote propelled Megawati's party to victory in the 1999 elections.

Recent blunders like the government-sponsored treasure hunt on a protected historic site and the poor handling of thousands of illegal workers facing possible caning in Malaysia have added to the criticism of Megawati's Cabinet.

Soetjipto, however, said he saw no reason for Megawati to replace ministers.

Ahmad Farhan Hamid, the chairman of the Reform faction in the House, which often sets itself in opposition to Megawati's administration, also said a Cabinet reshuffle was unnecessary.

"There are complaints as always, like weak law enforcement, but otherwise I don't think it's necessary," he said.

He said it was important for the government to move within the boundaries of the State Policy Guidelines, the National Development Programs and People's Consultative Assembly decrees.

Soetjipto also brushed aside the possibility that demands for a Cabinet reshuffle had caused a rift within the party. The issue, he said, was never even discussed at meetings.

"We just asked (Megawati) for confirmation of whether the President wanted to change the Cabinet. And the demand to replace ministers is not the position of this party," he added.