Susilo asks President of his duties in Cabinet

Tiarma Siboro and Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Top security minister Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Tuesday he had sent a letter to President Megawati Soekarnoputri seeking clarification over his role in the Cabinet.

In the letter delivered to the President earlier in the day, Susilo questioned his function as coordinating minister of political and security affairs because "it seems to me that Ibu has already made her own policies on such issues, which should, of course, be adjusted with my authority".

This was the culmination of weeks of tension between Susilo and the President.

Susilo said he expected Megawati would respond to the letter immediately, adding that he was waiting for an appropriate time to meet with the President to discuss their differences.

"I left it up to the President to decide," he said on the sidelines of a ceremony to commemorate the 43th anniversary of the Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in Central Jakarta.

The retired four-star general, who graduated in 1973 from the Military Academy, is a former Kostrad member.

There has been a great deal of speculation recently that Susilo would resign from the Cabinet, following his complaint to Megawati about not being invited to several important meetings at the State Palace and the President's official residence on Jl. Teuku Umar in Central Jakarta.

One meeting that Susilo was not included in two weeks ago was held to discuss preparations for the general election. The meeting was a precursor to visits to several provinces by security authorities to monitor preparation for the elections. The provinces included Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, where the military is waging a campaign to crush the separatist Free Aceh Movement.

Earlier this month, the President's husband, Taufik Kiemas, called Susilo childish for discussing with the media what he perceived as his being ostracized from the Cabinet. Taufik, who is also a leader of Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said Susilo should have come to the President first before talking to the media.

Signs of disquiet first appeared last September when Susilo held an informal meeting with former president B.J. Habibie in Germany on his way to the United States to attend an antiterrorism summit.

Susilo's regular appearance in TV spots appealing for a peaceful election in his capacity as the top security minister has only added to the tension between him and Megawati.

Observers say Susilo clearly has presidential ambitions. Many believe he could be one of the strongest contenders in the presidential election. Susilo has been proposed as a presidential candidate by the Democratic Party, the party he founded.

Susilo was reluctant to say that his letter to the President amounted to a resignation, but promised to clarify the matter on Wednesday after a meeting with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Thomas Ridge.

Megawati refused to discuss the possible resignation of her coordinating minister for political and security affairs, saying the minister was free to take whatever step he thought necessary, according to PDI-P deputy secretary-general Pramono Anung.

"We did not discuss it, but the President said it is up to him (Susilo) to decide," Pramono said following the party's weekly meeting led by Megawati.

Pramono said that as of Tuesday afternoon, Megawati had not received Susilo's letter.

A presidential staff member told The Jakarta Post the letter might have gone straight to the President through one of her adjutants, since no members of the presidential secretariat, state secretariat or the staff at Megawati's residence had received the letter.

"Maybe one of the adjutants gave the letter to the President," the staff member said.