President tells Cabinet to use shock therapy

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told his Cabinet ministers on Friday to take radical action to prove to the public that the government was determined to meet their expectations.

In the first Cabinet meeting to discuss programs for the first 100 days, Susilo instructed all Cabinet members to use some kind of shock therapy to show that his government meant business.

"Shock therapy is needed to gain the trust of the people, and that can be done in various ways, such as prosecuting alleged corrupters and illegal loggers," State Minister for Communications and Information Sofyan Djalil told a press conference after the meeting.

Fighting rampant and systemic corruption is high on the new government's agenda and Susilo has promised to lead the antigraft campaign himself.

In its latest report released on Wednesday, the Berlin-based Transparency International placed Indonesia as the world's fifth most corrupt nation with a rating of 2, with 10 being the score for the least corrupt nation.

During the Cabinet meeting, Susilo read out his vision and mission as well as election promises for Cabinet members to implement in their programs.

"There are many ministers who did not follow the campaign of the President, and some have just returned from abroad, so in the first Cabinet meeting, the President provided an executive summary of his promises," Sofyan said.

In security affairs, the government vows to maintain the country's territorial integrity, eliminate separatist movements in Aceh and Papua provinces as well as end communal clashes across the country.

The government also promised to end discrimination in all forms, eradicate graft, ensure social welfare for the people, improve religious tolerance and boost the role of the civil society.

In the economic affairs, the government promises to improve the investment climate and the micro-economic sector to reduce poverty and unemployment.

"This is the agenda of the Cabinet, and each ministry should implement it to support the vision," Sofyan said.

Sofyan, however, said Susilo mentioned no specific case or course of action as each ministry or state agency had to discuss their action plan internally.

"The point is that we have to hoist the flag of this Cabinet, to show we mean business in dealing with various problems faced by the country," he said, adding that each minister should report his or her action plan in the next Cabinet meeting.

The President also asked the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) to design the Cabinet's program for the first 100 days and appointed Vice President Jusuf Kalla to coordinate the task.

"The Vice President will just coordinate to support Bappenas in designing the program," Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said.

The meeting also briefly discussed negative reactions from the market toward the Cabinet lineup announced on Wednesday evening.

"We are not worried about the market reaction. We are going to prove that we can work and meet their expectations," Sofyan said.

Most Cabinet ministers came to the meeting in private cars and only ministers of former president Megawati Soekarnoputri drove in official Volvo sedans.

In a bid to prove his commitment to a clean government, President Susilo also instructed his Cabinet members to declare their wealth and assets to the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

The President underlined the political contract each minister had signed, which enjoins them to help him build a clean government.

"The form from the KPK should be returned in one week," Sudi said. "For the sake of accountability, each minister must declare every cent of their wealth."