Ryaas quits Cabinet after no response from President

JAKARTA (JP): After receiving no response from embattled President Abdurrahman Wahid for a month, State Minister of Administrative Reforms Ryaas Rasyid unilaterally declared his resignation from the cabinet as of Friday.

"As of today, I declare my resignation from the cabinet, and my job as minister of administrative reform will no longer be effective," he told reporters at his office.

He said he made the declaration because the President has yet to respond to the letter of resignation he personally delivered on Jan. 2.

Ryaas quit the cabinet in protest of the President's policy, especially on the implementation of regional autonomy.

He also said he sent on Friday a second letter to the President and had received confirmation from Bambang Kesowo, secretary to Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri, that the letter had been received.

"I have been waiting for a month but no response was given. It's possible that the President is too busy and has no time to handle this matter, or maybe it's too small a matter for him to tackle," he said.

When the President met Ryaas last month he said that he would not respond to Ryaas' resignation until he had discussed the matter with Megawati.

Ryaas said he sent the second letter at the suggestion of the Vice President whom he met on Thursday.

"That is why I wrote the second letter and sent it today," he said, adding that Megawati supported his resignation from the cabinet.

Ryaas said however he would still help coordinate matters with senior officials in the office of minister of administrative reform until the President appoints his successor.

He said he would go back to the Institute of Administrative Science and seek permission to undertake research for six months or a year overseas to write a book on reform in Indonesia.

"Despite my resignation, I will not oppose the government," he said. (rms)