Quitting honorable task
The startling if not shocking news was broken last weekend by the President himself. The Cabinet's Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication Hamzah Haz announced he would be more useful serving as chairman of his United Development Party (PPP). At least that was his official explanation. A former professor from Makassar University, Basri Hasanuddin, 70, was immediately available to replace him.
How immature, almost childish (I'm sorry to say so) it was to first accept a challenging and honorable position as a Cabinet minister, and to declare under oath to abide by the duties and hardship the position might entail, and then to resign after a month of service for personal reasons. It would indeed be different if the minister had had to face a vote of no-confidence in the House of Representatives and had been defeated or recalled by his party. It is regrettable to say, but this is a serious crack of weakness in the management of the newly formed government.
To achieve its program, each and every member of Abdurrahman Wahid's administration must hence forward demonstrate his or her unshakable determination to succeed. The Aceh problem and the call for greater regional autonomy or even the cry for separation from Indonesia or for a unitary republic -- though it threatens like an iceberg -- will eventually die down if everybody becomes more reasonable. A state of Aceh, if it ever comes to materialize, would have to rely on Indonesia's defense umbrella against foreign threats, both militarily and economically.
The ministers in charge of economic recovery are facing an almost impossible task to restructure the economic and financial ruins (just think of the banking sector) left behind as a legacy by the former administrations in terms of foreign debts and abuses of power. How can the ministers start the economic restructuring task when they are faced with such daunting dilemmas and are vulnerable to sharp criticism.
The sun in the sky may continue to shine brightly in years to come, but all of the Cabinet members must realize that time is not on their side. Also, there are still groupings in society who are intent on making life for the administration difficult. Remember that ordinary people are becoming impatient to obtain an improvement in their lives.
GANDHI SUKARDI
Jakarta