Speculation continues over ministers' names

Speculation continues over ministers' names

JAKARTA (JP): Who could they be? This question buzzed around
the capital on Monday following President Abdurrahman Wahid's
announcement that he was preparing to replace three Cabinet
members following new allegations of corruption.

Although the President has indicated the imminent shuffle on
two occasions during his recent visit to the United States, he
has yet to publicly disclose the names of the three ministers.

He is due to return home on Tuesday evening after an overnight
stopover in Japan.

Even House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, one of four top politicians
consulted last month by Abdurrahman about the Cabinet's
formation, appeared to have been kept in the dark.

"I have not heard who these ministers are, but they should be
given the due process of law, which will substantiate whether or
not they were involved in corruption, collusion and nepotism,"
Akbar said.

He appealed to the public, and the media in particular, to
uphold the principle of presumption of innocence.

"If there is evidence or strong proof, then their names can be
made public, otherwise it could have a psychological impact on
them, and affect the performance of the Cabinet."

Akbar, who is also chairman of the Golkar Party, agreed that
the ministers' names should not be made public while the attorney
general conducted the investigation.

He said he was unsure if the alleged corruption occurred
before or after the ministers were sworn in to office.

Akbar said if the alleged corruption was committed before the
ministers were installed, then they should not have been selected
in the first place, especially given the fact that the President
had stated that his ministers had been selected because they
were clean, honest, trustworthy and not known for their
extravagance.

Attorney General Marzuki Darusman is one of the few persons in
Jakarta who has been informed of the names of the four ministers.
He confirmed to reporters over the weekend that he had instigated
preliminary investigations as ordered by the President.

While declining to reveal their identities, Marzuki hinted
that the ministers' names were the ones most speculated about in
the media.

Two names that cropped up frequently in the rumor mills on
Monday were those of Minister of Manpower Bomer Pasaribu and
Coordinating Minister of People's Welfare and Poverty Eradication
Hamzah Haz.

Akbar denied that he had recommended Bomer's name to
Abdurrahman, but recalled that when the Cabinet was being put
together the five members of the selection committee were at a
loss as to whom to appoint to the Ministry of Manpower.

Hamzah said on Monday that if his name was one of the three
names drawing speculation in the media, he was ready to face
investigation by the Attorney General's Office.

Hamzah said however that he had not received a summons for
such an investigation.

The chairman of the Islamist United Development Party (PPP)
has been linked to the Bank Bali scandal, an accusation which he
denied once again on Monday.

He said that the accusation was a slander and was politically
motivated to discredit his name and his political party.

The new Cabinet, sworn in on Oct. 29, was formed as a
"compromise" between the country's major political forces,
including the Indonesian Military (TNI).

When announcing the Cabinet line-up, Abdurrahman said that
each Cabinet member had been proposed by one of the five national
leaders involved in the selection.

The selection team comprised Abdurrahman representing the
National Awakening Party (PKB), Gen. Wiranto representing
TNI/National Police, Megawati Soekarnoputri for the Indonesian
Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), Akbar for the
Golkar Party and Amien Rais of the National Mandate Party (PAN)
and the Islamist "axis force".

The 35 Cabinet members have also been ordered to declare their
wealth, but their reports have not been made public.

Observers meanwhile lauded the President's drive to uphold the
integrity and credibility of his Cabinet, although some were
puzzled at the President's reticence to identify the ministers in
question.

"President Abdurrahman has a strong sense of politics. His
goal to restore the government's image and credibility before the
public is real," said Satjipto Rahardjo of the Diponegoro
University in Semarang.

Slamet Effendi Yusuf, a legislator from the Golkar Party, said
that in keeping with the spirit of transparency, the President
should reveal the names of the suspects, suspend them from the
Cabinet, and replace them if they were found guilty.
(rms/emf/har/emb)