Susilo appoints Sjahrir as advisor

Susilo appoints Sjahrir as advisor

Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday appointed
economist-cum-politician Sjahrir as his personal economic
adviser.

After meeting with the President at the State Palace on
Thursday, Sjahrir said Susilo had asked him to give advice on
economic affairs and the settlement of business disputes.

"I was asked by the President to be one of his personal
advisers in the economic sector," he said.

Sjahrir -- who earned his PhD in political economy and
government at Harvard University in 1983 -- has been an outspoken
critic of the government's economic policy.

Having influential figures of the Indonesian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry in Susilo's Cabinet -- including Vice
President Jusuf Kalla and Coordinating Minister for the Economy
Aburizal Bakrie -- has been Sjahrir's main concern.

He set up a political party called the New Indonesia Alliance
Party (PPIB) in September 2002. The party -- comprising noted
academics, media figures, businessmen and economists -- slumped
in last year's general election and failed to win a seat in the
House of Representatives.

With the appointment, Sjahrir becomes Susilo's third personal
advisor after political and social affairs adviser TB Silalahi
and international affairs advisor Ali Alatas.

Silalahi -- who was also Susilo's tutor in the military -- is
a former Army general and served as a minister during the
administration of former President Soeharto, while Alatas served
as foreign minister under the Soeharto and BJ Habibie
administrations.