Ministers told to quit party jobs

Ministers told to quit party jobs

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Calls are mounting for Cabinet members to relinquish their posts
in political parties and business enterprises to avoid conflict
of interests and to allow them to focus on state duties.

Analysts Johannes Kristiadi of the Centre for Strategic and
International Studies (CSIS) and Saldi Isra of the Padang-based
Andalas University said on Monday that although there was no
regulation requiring ministers to quit their party jobs, such a
move would be a logical consequence of the pledge they made to
the President.

"The ministers have signed a contract that they will work to
the utmost to help President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono fulfill his
campaign promises -- and this will be an uphill struggle. They
must concentrate on the job and end any activities relating to
political parties or business endeavors," Kristiadi said.

Should they not resign, the ministers' work in Cabinet would
be compromised by time spent working with their political
parties, he said.

Several Cabinet ministers have wavered about relinquishing
their party posts, while Crescent Star Party (PBB) chairman
Yusril Ihza Mahendra and PBB secretary general Malam Sambat
Ka'ban have explicitly refused to give up their political jobs,
saying there would be no conflict of interest if they were kept
on as party leaders.

Six other politically appointed ministers said the final say
on whether they should resign remained hanging in the balance
pending decisions from their parties.

Kristiadi doubted political parties would dismiss members who
had been appointed ministers.

"Part of the parties' objectives is to accumulate power and
the appointment of their members as ministers could meet this
goal," he said.

Saldi said if the ministers did not resign from political
posts their portfolios, and the nation's development, would
suffer.

"We have learned from past experience that ministers strive
only for their party interests," he said.

The likelihood of these ministers resigning however was small
as their appointments were precisely because of their political
affiliation, he said.

"President Susilo handpicked them because they are
representatives of political parties, which would likely ease the
way for him in the House of Representatives," he said.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal
Bakri said on Monday he no longer held any positions in his
business empire starting as of June.

"I have let younger people take over my duties. It is now my
turn to give my service to the public," he said.