Right man in the wrong place

Right man in the wrong place

Arnold Baramuli appears to have totally reformed the Supreme
Advisory Council (DPA), which he heads. Whereas during the
Soeharto administration, the DPA chairman, Soedomo, presented his
advice to the president only once a month, Baramuli meets with
President B.J. Habibie almost every week. Whereas in the past
such meetings lasted for only half an hour at the most,
Baramuli's meetings with President Habibie often go on for hours.

With Baramuli as the council's chairman, meetings with the
Cabinet are not always held at the Bina Graha presidential
office. On a number of occasions Baramuli has requested that
Cabinet ministers meet at the DPA offices in order to get better
input. Lately, important policy measures taken by President
Habibie have often been made public through Baramuli, rather than
through Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung. The most recent
example of this was the decision to investigate former president
Soeharto.

From the point of view of empowering the DPA, what Baramuli is
doing deserves to be commended. From the point of view of the
proper functioning of the state apparatus, however, Baramuli's
acts interfere with the functions of other state institutions.
Such an empowerment of the DPA thus hampers the proper
functioning of other institutions. This, of course, is a matter
of proper job description and coordination.

Frankly, considering Baramuli's present maneuverings, he
appears better fit to be a vice president, a minister/state
secretary or a minister of home affairs. It seems a pity for
Baramuli to confine his overflowing energy to serving in the DPA.
As a counselor who seems to be very much trusted by Habibie,
Baramuli could ask to be given an executive post. It could be,
however, that Baramuli is too modest to tell Habibie that (in his
present position) he is the right man in the wrong place.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta