New cabinet needs to prove clean governance

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)