Ministers reflect on the past in their last cabinet meeting

JAKARTA (JP): Yesterday's monthly cabinet meeting at the Bina Graha presidential office to review the economy was the last before the government is dissolved next month, and some ministers have begun reflecting quietly on their service.

Few were willing to share their thoughts with journalists however.

"Being a minister has been an unforgettable experience," was all that Ibrahim Hasan, the state minister of food, said before the meeting.

Ibrahim also led the National Logistics Agency (Bulog) until April 1995 when he was replaced by Beddu Amang.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto said he had strived to modernize and improve the country's transportation system but acknowledged that his five-year cabinet term had its share of tragic accidents.

"I'm very saddened by these accidents because most of them were caused by human error," he said when asked about his most bitter experiences as a minister.

"I am no stranger to criticism. Before joining the cabinet I was a member of the House of Representatives and it was my duty to criticize the ministers.

"So I have to accept the fact that I have been a target of criticism since I became a minister," he said.

In late 1995, Haryanto was embroiled in a corruption scandal at the ministry but was cleared by President Soeharto.

Djamaludin Suryohadikusomo, the forestry minister, is the only cabinet member known to have tendered his resignation.

This happened last year at the peak of the forest fires that sent a massive cloud of haze over many parts of Indonesia and neighboring Singapore and Malaysia.

His offer was refused by the President.

Reflecting on this, Djamaludin said: "I'm not only a bureaucrat but also a statesman. I feel I had the obligation to take full responsibility regardless of what caused the fires."

R. Hartono, the minister of information, described dealing with journalists as among the most cherished moments of his nine- month term in the cabinet.

"Dealing with journalists is particularly exciting," said Hartono, who is being widely touted as a candidate for the vice presidency.

Armed Forces Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung arguably won the accolade as the least approachable member of the cabinet, although in his position he undoubtedly had a lot to say.

Feisal's famous phrase "It's none of your business" was used with great frequency in response to the thousand-and-one questions from pestering journalists.

"Journalists want to discuss everything under the sun. I don't want to comment on all of the issues because I could be misinterpreted," Feisal said.

The cabinet will be dissolved on March 1 when President Soeharto presents his accountability report to the People's Consultative Assembly. In the past, the new cabinet was formed around the third week of March.

Soeharto, who is widely expected to be reelected by the Assembly, has in the past retained about half of the cabinet members.

Questions about who is staying and who is going no doubt occupied the minds of some ministers, but none were willing to leave prematurely.

One minister was miffed yesterday when he found his seat occupied by a journalist talking to a fellow cabinet member before the meeting began.

"I think I still have the right to be seated here," the minister joked to reporters. (prb)