Soeharto presents new cabinet

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has brought in business leaders, scholars, politicians and bureaucrats among new faces in the 36-strong cabinet to help him tackle the economic crisis.

In the new lineup which he announced yesterday, Soeharto retained 12 figures from the previous team to ensure continuity, and enlisted 24 new faces, including his eldest daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana, to inject new blood into the new cabinet.

The cabinet's tasks "are not going to be easy," Soeharto said in his announcement broadcast live nationwide from Merdeka Palace. Vice President B.J. Habibie stood by his side.

The world is entering a new era which will be filled with rapid changes as well as challenges and hopes, he said.

"Our tasks are made more difficult because we are facing severe tests and trials," he said, referring to the worst economic crisis Indonesia has had to face in the last 32 years.

"This calls for extremely hard work," he said, adding: "The entire nation demands that these economic and financial crises be resolved."

Soeharto named tycoon Mohamad (Bob) Hasan for the powerful trade and industry portfolio. A golf buddy of Soeharto, Hasan has managed various charity foundations under the President.

Tanri Abeng, CEO of Bakrie Group and once said to be Indonesia's highest paid professional manager, is named state minister to supervise the operation of state companies.

In the past, two women were included in the cabinet: minister of social services, now given to Siti Hardijanti, and minister of women affairs, given to Moslem preacher Tutty Alawiah.

This time Soeharto named a third woman, giving the vital agriculture portfolio to Justika Baharsjah, who is the wife of the outgoing minister Sjarifudin Baharsjah.

There are only six ministers with military backgrounds compared to nine in the previous cabinet, but they retain the most strategic posts in the cabinet.

The defense and security portfolio goes to Gen. Wiranto who keeps his job as Armed Forces (ABRI) chief; Feisal Tanjung, who was the ABRI chief until last month, is coordinating minister for political affairs and security; and former Army chief of staff R. Hartono moves to home affairs from the information portfolio.

The other three are Hendro Priyono, an Army lieutenant general; Ginandjar Kartasamita, a retired vice air marshal; and Ary Mardjono, a retired Army major general.

Ali Alatas, a career diplomat, remains as foreign minister and is one of only a few figures serving their third terms in the cabinet. Other old timers in the cabinet include Hartarto, Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Haryono Suyono and Akbar Tandjung.

Soeharto dropped Moerdiono, who was state secretary for 10 years, and promoted Saadilah Mursjid from cabinet secretary to the influential position of the President's chief of staff.

Soeharto's economic team comprises mostly new faces, a surprising but not totally unexpected move. He dropped Mar'ie Muhammad from the finance portfolio, and had already replaced Soedradjad Djiwandono as Bank Indonesia governor last month.

In their places, he appointed Fuad Bawazier, formerly director general of taxation, as minister and Sjahril Sabirin, who has already taken over from Soedradjad as central bank chief.

Soeharto enlisted several politicians from Golkar's central executive board. They include secretary-general Ary Mardjono, Theo Sambuaga, Agung Laksono and Siti Hardijanti.

From the academia, he recruited Juwono Sudarsono, Muladi, Quraish Shihab and Wiranto Arismunandar among others.

He promoted senior officials from within the ministries, including Bawazier (finance), Sumahadi (forestry) and Rahmadi Bambang Sumadhijo (public works).

Rahardi Ramelan, formerly deputy chairman of the National Development Planning Board, replaces Habibie both as state minister of research and technology and as chairman of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology.

Soeharto said that in selecting the cabinet, he not only paid close attention to the individuals' abilities and capabilities, but also to their ability to work as a team.

Citing the Constitution, he said the ministers would be answerable to him and not to the House of Representatives. But he added that the ministers carried a tremendous responsibility to ensure that the national development goals set out in the enacted 1998/2003 State Policy Guidelines bore results.

He underlined four chief tasks of the cabinet:

* The simultaneous pursuance of national stability, economic growth and equity.

* Greater self-reliance and self-confidence in dealing with problems resulting from the globalization process.

* Strengthening national resilience.

* Forging national unity and cohesion.

Soeharto has also given a much broader job description to the vice president, in the past restricted mostly to development supervision and ceremonial tasks.

Habibie's additional tasks include assisting the President in international forums such as in the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Organization of Islamic Conference, the Group of 15, the Asia-Europe Meeting, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Habibie is expected to coordinate the industrial sector, between upstream and downstream, between heavy, medium and light industries, and between agroindustry and the cottage industry.

Another task is to forge national unity and cohesion.

Soeharto als made some changes in the structure of some of the ministries. A new Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture is set up in place of the old Tourism, Post and Telecommunication. The Ministry of Forestry now also handles the plantation sector, which in the past came under the Ministry of Agriculture.

Two new state ministers were created: one for the empowerment of state enterprises, and another for food, drugs and horticulture. The post of state minister for state administrative reform is now combined with coordinating minister for development supervision. (prb/emb)