Observers call on Cabinet members to disclose wealth

JAKARTA (JP): Observers said here on Monday members of the Cabinet which is expected to be announced on Tuesday should publicly disclose their assets before and after their appointments.

Hermawan Sulistyo of the National Institute of Science said Cabinet members, President Abdurrahman Wahid and Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri should also be willing to be audited.

"This move is necessary as an initial step toward their accountability to the public," Hermawan said.

Abdurrahman, popularly known as Gus Dur, is facing pressure to establish a "New-Order free", clean and professional Cabinet.

National Commission on Human Rights member B.N. Marbun shared Hermawan's view, saying the disclosure of their wealth would help the new ministers gain the public's trust.

"It's normal and necessary if we wish to begin a new era which is clean and free from corruption, that all government officials be obliged to disclose their wealth," Marbun, who is a former House of Representatives legislator, was quoted by Antara as saying.

He said he was afraid that without such a requirement, government officials would be able to evade taxes.

"The declaration of wealth does not violate human rights. Even in Europe, people have to register all of their assets," Marbun said.

Analysts have predicted the new Cabinet will be dominated by new faces. They also anticipate the Cabinet will consist of between 20 and 25 ministers, smaller than the previous Cabinet, and that some ineffective ministries will be disbanded.

There is some concern, however, that a number of people who served as ministers under disgraced former president Soeharto will be appointed to the Cabinet.

People's Consultative Assembly Speaker Amien Rais said on Monday it would be "impossible" to set up a Cabinet entirely free of the New Order because "there has to be room for compromise".

"One or two (old faces) will make sense, but five or six are too many," Amien said.

Sociopolitical observer Franz Magnis Suseno shared Amien's opinion, saying "compromise is common in politics".

"If the president chooses some old faces for his Cabinet, we have to accept that as a reality. If the person is clean, we have no reason to reject him or her," Franz said.

Meanwhile in Semarang, Central Java, an official of Abdurrahman's National Awakening Party (PKB), Abdul Kadir, called on Abdurrahman to exclude from his Cabinet people who served as ministers under Soeharto.

"We hope that Gus Dur will set up a team of honest, professional and modest people," Abdul said.

Sources close to Abdurrahman said a number of ministries, including the religious affairs, foreign affairs and education affairs ministries, could be filled from the ranks of the PKB.

Analysts said some ministers may come from the "axis force", a coalition of Muslim-based political parties which backed Abdurrahman's presidential nomination, while a number of economic officials could come from Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle.

Analysts also said Abdurrahman was likely to appoint a number of Golkar Party members in return for the party's support in the presidential election.

According to analysts, Abdurrahman's most pressing task is to revive the country's economy and reopen the investigation into the alleged corruption by Soeharto.

In Yogyakarta, political observer Pratikno of Gadjah Mada University said it was important to accommodate different political views with seats in the Cabinet.

"Individuals from the eastern part of the country must be accommodated to suppress separatist sentiments," Pratikno said.

In Bandung, historian Ahmad Mansur Suryanegara of Padjajaran University predicted President Abdurrahman would appoint a minister for maritime affairs. (04/05/43/44/45/har)