Parties press for Cabinet change to boost position

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With calls mounting for the replacement of some Cabinet ministers, political parties were fishing for deals ahead of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) annual session in August, analysts said on Monday.

They said this might lead to some parties securing more power within the government for the 2004 general election.

Political observer Ikrar Nusa Bhakti said the annual session has served as a forum for parties to renegotiate their bargaining positions and access to power within the government.

"It's a possible explanation of the increased calls for a Cabinet change, given also that there is no major rift between the President and the legislature," Ikrar said on Monday.

When President Megawati Soekarnoputri returns from her two- week European trip on Friday she will have to confront critics at home accusing members of her 10-month-old Cabinet of foot- dragging.

On the list are Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil, for incompetence; plus State Minister for National Development Planning, Kwik Kian Gie, for continually disagreeing with other economic ministers.

Criticism has also fallen on State Secretary/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo, whom many have charged of widening his influence within the government.

Political parties, including Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), have openly expressed their desire for Bambang's removal.

But the pressure might not be strong enough for Megawati to dismiss Cabinet members after she spent nearly a month selecting them.

People close to the President said she disliked "backtracking on her words", and she also wanted to avoid a footloose cabinet as her predecessor Abdurrahman Wahid once had.

During his 22 months in power, the former president changed his cabinet four times, or virtually every five months, sometimes on his own initiative.

Ikrar said Megawati should learn a lesson from Abdurrahman's frequent cabinet changes, reasoning that political opponents had levered their influence and weakened his from the inside.

"They (Cabinet changes) should take into account the coalition of the political parties that propelled Megawati to the presidency," he explained.

With the annual session close, political parties might be betting on Megawati reconsidering her stance, according to dean of the University of Indonesia's faculty of political science Maswadi Rauf.

"Megawati will have to heed these calls if she wants to ease pressure on herself at the MPR annual session," Maswadi said.

In August the President will deliver her progress report before the MPR, the country's top law-making body, in which legislators occupy more than half of the seats.

"Megawati cannot afford Gus Dur's style of dismissing legislators," he said, referring to Abdurrahman by his nickname.

Legislators, fed up with Abdurrahman downplaying their role, had the president removed by calling for a special session of the MPR following a six-month impeachment campaign.

Abdurrahman's cabinet, however, stood on shaky ground from the very beginning. His cabinet, as was his presidency, was the outcome of a political compromise between the country's two largest political parties, PDI Perjuangan and Golkar, and the Reform faction, which is a coalition of largely Muslim-based parties.

His ouster and Megawati's rise to the presidency last July were driven by these political forces.

Megawati enjoys broader support as parties agreed to maintain her presidency until at least the 2004 general election.

The consensus followed Abdurrahman's erratic administration, which took its toll on the nation's economy, with foreign aid cuts and dwindling investments. Political stability is the overwhelming priority at present.

Minor ructions against the government have surfaced over the past few months. In one example, rumors of a new political grouping in the making was apparently a bluff to persuade PDI Perjuangan to agree to replace Assembly deputy speaker Matori with Cholil Bisri.

Both Matori and Cholil hail from the two warring factions within the National Awakening Party (PKB), both factions vying for seats in the political establishment.

Rumors of a possible alliance between PKB and the Reform faction subsided with Cholil's appointment early this month.

Speculation has now surfaced that elements within PDI Perjuangan are hoping to form a new coalition within the government through a Cabinet shake-up.

But PKB legislator Ali Masykur Moesa was dismissive that narrow political interests were driving the latest call for the replacement of Cabinet ministers.

Slack coordination within the economic team, and the state secretary becoming a burden to Megawati were strong enough reasons to reshuffle the Cabinet, he thought.