Reviewing the Cabinet

Should President Abdurrahman Wahid reshuffle his national Cabinet? More and more people seem to think so. They say August will be a good time to do it after he presents his progress report to the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR).

Gus Dur's score card in August will reveal both his achievements and shortcomings since he was elected by the assembly in October. But without having to wait until August, every one knows that the Cabinet's poor performance is partly, if not mostly, to blame for the current sorry state of the nation.

The nation certainly cannot endure four more years of the same political uncertainty that has affected so many lives and halted virtually all new investments over the past nine months.

Something must be changed in August when the MPR begins a tradition of meeting every year to assess the government's performance and to keep its policy directions in check. Given the current state of things, the MPR could, at the extreme, turn the August meeting into an extraordinary session to impeach the President -- as some people are suggesting -- but at the risk of plunging Indonesia even deeper into crisis.

A more rational proposal would be to give the President another chance, and let him reshuffle his Cabinet. It has been public knowledge that the President is not altogether happy with the Cabinet selection that was virtually imposed on him by the big political factions that got him elected in October. If he is now given a free reign to select his own Cabinet, not only is there a chance that he will get it right, but he will also start taking ownership of more of his constitutional responsibilities instead of passing the blame onto individual Cabinet members.

By all indications, Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, House of Representatives Speaker Akbar Tandjung and MPR Chairman Amien Rais have warmed up to the idea of a Cabinet reshuffle. As heads of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Golkar and the National Mandate Party (PAN), they, along with the United Development Party (PPP), Gus Dur's own Nation Awakening Party (PKB) and the Indonesian Military are the major partners in this national coalition government.

While it is not clear how far each of these partners are willing to let Gus Dur choose his own Cabinet, now seems a good time to take another look at the concept of a national government. When Gus Dur was elected in October, it seemed a good idea at the time for him to form a cabinet encompassing all the major political factions. Besides returning the favor for electing him, involving the major factions in government was in the spirit of reconciliation and cooperation which were needed at the time.

The experience of the past nine months however suggests that a national government was not a workable preposition. Poor coordination is only a symptom of deeper problems within the Cabinet. Many members have a divided loyalty and have effectively been serving two bosses, the President and their party leaders.

The old adage that loyalty to the party ends at the moment one's loyalty to the nation begins does not apply to many in the Cabinet. Given the frail condition of the President, many of them seemed to be jockeying for positions of power in the eventuality that something might happen to him before his five-year term ends. Rather than shedding their party colors and agenda, they are consolidating their positions in their respective parties even as they serve the government.

Megawati was reelected PDI Perjuangan chairwoman; Minister of Justice and Legislation Yusril Izha Mahendra got reelected as chairman of the Crescent and Star Party (PKB); Coordinating Minister for the Economy Kwik Kian Gie and Attorney General Marzuki Darusman retain their executive posts in PDI Perjuangan and Golkar. Even Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab has been hard campaigning for the PKB chairmanship. Only Minister of Forestry Nur Mahmudi resigned from the Justice Party chairmanship to dedicate himself to his Cabinet job.

Assuming that Gus Dur would be allowed to name his own Cabinet, he would do well to invite a bigger partner to join his small PKB in the government. PDI Perjuangan seems the ideal choice, not only because it is the largest faction in the House, but also because it would strengthen the existing partnership between Gus Dur and Megawati. A PKB-PDI Perjuangan coalition would allow them to govern effectively, and push some of their legislative agendas through the House.

As for the other major political parties, there are other more effective ways of serving the country than by being inside the government. A Golkar-led coalition of opposition parties in the House would make a formidable force to check on the powers of the PKB-PDI Perjuangan government. Each major party would thus have a clearly defined democratic role to play in this arrangement.

The concept of a grand national coalition, while nobel and well intended, may be at the root of some of Indonesia's political problems today. The time has now come to replace the concept with something else. Letting Gus Dur have his way and allowing him to name his Cabinet could actually make for a healthier and more orderly democracy in this country.