Politicians to dominate Cabinet

Politicians to dominate Cabinet

JAKARTA (JP): While President Megawati Soekarnoputri remains
silent on the possible lineup of her Cabinet, Vice President
Hamzah Haz suggested that most ministers be recruited from
political parties in a bid to win the parties' support of the new
government.

Speaking to journalists after Friday prayers in the mosque
opposite his private residence in East Jakarta, Hamzah said many
politicians "are smart and capable of handling state affairs".

"I think many politicians fit the ministerial posts, for
example Kwik Kian Gie and Laksamana Sukardi from the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), who are widely
known for their capabilities," Hamzah remarked.

Like Hamzah, both Kwik and Laksamana served as ministers in
former president Abdurrahman Wahid's administration. The three
were dismissed by Abdurrahman, whose erratic 21-month rule ended
on Monday.

The Vice President underlined that ministers from political
parties would enjoy wider support in carrying out their duties.

He proposed that during this transitional period, 60 percent
of the Cabinet members should come from political parties, with
the rest of the ministerial posts going to nonpartisan
professionals.

"This composition is needed to help the government push for an
immediate economic recovery," said Hamzah, whose tenure in the
House of Representatives was mostly spent on the budget
commission.

He said, however, the final decision on the Cabinet lineup was
Megawati's.

"It is the prerogative of the President to appoint her
ministers and I won't give any recommendations unless I am asked
to do so. We have to wait for Ibu Megawati to decide on the
Cabinet lineup," Hamzah said.

Megawati said after her induction as the country's fifth
president that her Cabinet would be announced in a few days. The
President visited her father's grave in Blitar, East Java, on
Thursday, and made her first official domestic trip as President
to Sumedang in West Java, Palu in Central Sulawesi and Makassar
in South Sulawesi on Friday.

Separately, Akbar Tandjung, the speaker of the House of
Representatives and the Golkar Party chairman, said his party
would support the government even if none of its members were
included in the Cabinet.

"Even if Golkar is kept out of the Cabinet, we will support
the new government and give it a chance to restore political
stability and defuse the long-standing economic crisis," he said,
adding that he did not yet know whether Megawati would recruit
any Golkar figures for her Cabinet.

Meanwhile, the deputy secretary-general of the National
Awakening Party (PKB), Muhaimin Iskandar, said on Friday his
party, which was cofounded by former president Abdurrahman Wahid,
would refuse any offer from Megawati to join the Cabinet.

Muhaimin said the decision was made during the party's plenary
meeting at its headquarters in Kuningan, South Jakarta, on
Friday.

Programs

Politicians and activists called on Megawati to announce her
development programs before naming her ministers.

Alvin Lie, a legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN),
said both the public and the market were waiting for the new
government's programs in the areas of the economy and the legal
system, with the country currently plagued by an economic crisis
and legal uncertainties.

"Megawati must first announce to the public what her
priorities will be in the first 100 days of her government,
instead of forming her Cabinet, to convince both the public and
the market," Alvin said during a panel discussion here.

He advised the new government to adopt the major parties'
joint political platform in designing its programs.

He explained that according to the parties' political
platform, the new government should prioritize stabilizing the
rupiah and reducing to a minimum interest rates to revive the
real sector, creating political stability and upholding the
supremacy of law to regain international confidence.

According to Feisal Riza Rachmat, a prodemocracy activist, if
political leaders continue to fight for power the Special Session
of the People's Consultative Assembly will have been of no
benefit to the public.

"The public will remain apathetic about the national
leadership and the new government will be trapped in horse-
trading if it fails to design programs benefiting the majority of
the public," he said.

He also called on the Golkar Party to stay out of Megawati's
government and play the role of an opposition party.

"Golkar's opposition would benefit not only the much-
criticized party but also the government," he said, adding that
the absence of an opposition party in the past contributed to the
corruption and collusion among political leaders and the
bureaucracy. (rms/dja/tso)