New Cabinet announced after tough negotiations
New Cabinet announced after tough negotiations
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
After a long debate, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono finally
announced his Cabinet lineup on Wednesday night.
Called the United Indonesia Cabinet, Susilo's ministers come
from various political parties and professions. They include some
who served in the previous government, including Yusril Ihza
Mahendra, Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Hassan Wirayuda, Hatta Radjasa and
Bachtiar Chamsyah.
"There are always pros and cons, but I realize that the lineup
will not necessarily win the support of every party or satisfy
everybody," Susilo said.
"Believe me, we have thoroughly discussed the lineup based on
the criteria we have set. For me, it's not approval for or
opposition to the ministers that matters, but their performance
and hard work so that we can lead the country out of the crisis."
It took Susilo and his Vice President Jusuf Kalla almost four
hours to finalize their ministerial team after presidential
spokesman Andi Mallarangeng announced a delay in the announcement
of the Cabinet from the scheduled time of 8 p.m.
While people were left guessing as to what was going on at the
negotiating table inside Susilo's office, the President summoned
five candidates for an interview. They included Bactiar Chamsyah
of the United Development Party, who is a former minister of
social affairs, Alwi Shihab of the National Awakening Party,
social activist Nafsiah Mboi, economist Yusuf Anwar, former
energy and mineral resources minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro and
medical expert Siti Fadillah Suparman. The President had summoned
30 figures for interviews between Friday and Tuesday.
Kalla said he had participated in the interviews, particularly
as regards those portfolios that were related to the economy.
Speculation was rife that contention among Susilo's allies had
forced the newly inaugurated President to readjust his Cabinet
lineup.
There were also reports that some of the ministerial
candidates had planned to quit either because of antipathy to or
opposition from other nominees. One of these was Sri Mulyani
Indrawati, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s director for
Southeast Asia, who said she intended to withdraw her nomination
due to mounting pressure against her.
There has long been anti-IMF sentiment among the public, in
particular the Prosperous Justice Party and Crescent Star Party,
two Muslim-based parties that supported Susilo's bid for the
presidency. The PKS had even threatened to withdraw its support
for Susilo if he picked "pro-IMF" economists.
Many expected that Mulyani could get either the job of
coordinating minister for the economy or the finance portfolio.
The threats appeared to have an impact. By Tuesday afternoon,
Sri Mulyani was no longer being penned in for either of the two
most important posts in the economic team, and instead found
herself being nominated for the lesser post of state minister for
national development planning.
Meanwhile, the Suara Pembaruan daily reported that E.E.
Mangindaan, a ministerial candidate from the Democratic Party,
which Susilo co-founded, intended to withdraw his nomination,
saying that he preferred to work in the legislature.
Political scientist Maswadi Rauf, meanwhile, said that
accommodating every political interest in the formation of the
Cabinet would do nothing to guarantee the subsequent
effectiveness of the Cabinet.
He suggested that the political parties that supported the
Susilo-Kalla ticket in the presidential election accept whatever
choices the President made in forming his Cabinet.