New cabinet needs to prove clean governance

A new 36-strong cabinet was sworn in on Monday. Subroto, rector of the Pancasila University and a former cabinet minister, discusses society's expectations from the new cabinet.

Question: Do you think that President Soeharto has accommodated calls for a cabinet consisting only of people with integrity in his new line up?

Subroto: We had better not hold prejudices against the new cabinet. We must be open-minded. Society will evaluate whether or not the new cabinet are clean and of high integrity. Now that the cabinet has been established we should give the new ministers an opportunity to carry out their jobs as well as possible.

Q: Last year's recruitment of members for the House of Representatives showed a neptotistic tendency. Do you see a similar tendency in the appointment of new ministers?

S: You are asking about what has been noted in society's mind. In my opinion, the government currently needs the support of the people to carry out the hard task of solving economic, social and political problems. We should not hastily judge it. We should give it a chance to carry out it's assignment.

Q: The recent General Session of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) suggested that the new cabinet should try to eradicate corruption and collusive practices. Do you think the new cabinet is capable of carrying out such a task?

S: We cannot judge that yet. The new cabinet members have to prove that they are capable of this.

Q: We have a Supreme Audit Agency, which is the government's financial comptroller, yet corruption and collusive practices have continued to flourish. What measures should the new cabinet take to eradicate these practices?

S: I think the new cabinet members should declare their wealth before they start their jobs and an independent watchdog should be established to monitor corruption and collusive practices. More importantly, the media should be given greater freedom to report the truth.

Q: What strengths do you see in the new cabinet?

S: One of the outstanding features of the new cabinet is that it has a lot of distinguished academics.

The new economic team includes prominent businesspeople. These people, who are used to dealing with microeconomic issues, will have to adjust their outlook because now, as ministers, they will have to deal with macroeconomic policies. I hope the economic ministers will be able to help the country solve its current problems.

On political affairs, I hope that Minister of Home Affairs R. Hartono, a former high-ranking military official, will be able to accelerate the country's political development. As we all know, President Soeharto has traditionally assigned a military officer to lead the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Q: Do you think that a military appointment will be able to accommodate popular demands for democracy and political reform?

S: I see some changes in the government's attitude. Armed Forces Commander Gen. Wiranto, for example, said the government will open communications channels more widely, so that there will be more dialog held with the people. If that really happens it will be a significant breakthrough.

Q: Do you think the cabinet composition represents the plurality of the nation?

S: The cabinet includes the younger generation, academics, military officials, women and a member of the Chinese community -- Mohamad (Bob) Hasan is the first ethnic Chinese to be included in President Soeharto's cabinets. Moslems are also well represented in the cabinet. However, we do not see any representative from the opposition political parties. Perhaps, considering the serious nature of the problems faced by the country, Pak Harto has chosen cabinet members who will be 100 percent loyal to him.

Q: Do you think President Soeharto considered suggestions from other parties when he selected new cabinet members?

S: Pak Harto surely received suggestions from many parties. But he, as leader of the nation for over 30 years, has become an accomplished expert in choosing his aides.

Q: Will the new cabinet members be able to help solve the country's problems?

S: Sometimes people can do more than expected. We'd better let them prove their worth to society. (riz)