Ratih installed as presidential secretary

Ratih installed as presidential secretary

JAKARTA (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid installed his
private assistant Ratih Kaniawan Hardjono in the newly created
post of presidential secretary on Friday.

Not only was the new post a break from tradition, but the
ceremony itself was also rare because a president does not
normally personally install a first echelon official.

No less than eight Cabinet members attended the ceremony,
which is also unusual. The attendance of ministers is usually
reserved for grand state affairs such as the inauguration of an
ambassador or military chiefs of staff.

Abdurrahman said his decision to appoint Ratih, a former
Australia-based correspondent for Kompas daily, was a part of his
plan to return the State Secretariat to its original function of
keeping state archives.

"This is very important because otherwise the State
Secretariat would slowly become a state within a state," the
President said in his speech.

It was State Secretary Ali Rahman who conducted the official
protocol of reading the text of the oath which was repeated by
Ratih.

Among the Cabinet members in attendance was State Minister of
Settlement and Territorial Development Erna Witular, as well as
Chief Justice Sarwata.

Ratih worked for Kompas daily before becoming Abdurrahman's
private assistant earlier this year when he was still Nahdlatul
Ulama (NU) chairman.

In Decree No.141, issued on Monday, the President stipulated
that the presidential secretary is responsible for preparing
state functions led by or attended by the President and Vice
President, domestic and overseas tours by the President and/or
his wife.

She is also in charge of press affairs, administrative
matters, the handling of about 500 civil servants working for the
presidential household chief and maintenance of the presidential
palaces.

"I realize the task is very heavy, that is why I need someone
whom I deeply trust to handle the daily activities," said the
President.

Ratih's inauguration signifies a shakeup in the composition of
senior palace officials.

Abdurrahman also signed on Monday a decree establishing the
installation of NU activist Sayuti Asatri as Ratih's deputy,
while Djoko Setiono will be Ratih's assistant.

Wahyu Maryadi, a journalist for Tempo weekly news magazine,
was made head of the protocol bureau.

Abdurrahman described Wahyu as a close friend, while Wahyu
quipped that the President liked his massage technique.

"The duty of a protocol officer is to make my duty easier and
not chain me (to my duties)," Abdurrahman said as he complained
of the rigid state protocol.

The President also appointed Dharmawan Ronodipuro, a career
diplomat, as presidential press secretary.

Abdurrahman also promoted Arifin Junaidi, outgoing NU deputy
secretary-general as bureau chief of general affairs and palace
administrative affairs.

With the new lineup at the palace, the now former presidential
household chief Kemal Munawar, who held the post for only two
months, will return to the foreign ministry. His position, along
with four other positions, was dissolved by the president.

Abdurrahman is due to sign more decrees which will abolish
several positions at the State Secretariat, including the
military secretary, deputy state secretary and vice secretary of
the Cabinet. (prb)