Susilo drops criticized Cabinet meetings
Wahyoe Boediwardhana and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post/Denpasar/Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has canceled Cabinet meetings scheduled for Friday and Saturday amid criticism at home over the cost effectiveness of the video conference facility and growing speculation of cracks within his government. State Secretary Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Friday that Susilo could not head the Cabinet meetings because he was "busy preparing his speech due to be presented at the World Summit on Friday (New York time)." "I have phoned the Cabinet Secretary. He said the President was busy preparing his speech for the Summit," he said, referring to Sudi Silalahi.
Over the past few days, Susilo, who is on a week-long overseas visit to the U.S., has been leading daily Cabinet meetings via a video conference facility to obtain fresh information and assess the situation at home, which is of particular concern given the economy is suffering from the impact of the oil price increase.
The President was supposed to lead a meeting on Friday, discussing ways to compensate poor families when the government again raises fuel prices. On Saturday, his last day in the U.S., Susilo is scheduled to hold another meeting to discuss the results of his overseas trip and a press conference with journalists at home.
The use of the video conference facility has triggered criticism at home including from some lawmakers, considering the cost of nearly Rp 500 million (about US$50,000) for one week.
Susilo's decision to lead the Cabinet meetings while overseas suggested he lacked confidence in the vice president to lead the administration, thus raising speculation over the poor relations between the two. Jusuf Kalla only attended the first Cabinet meeting on Monday, and skipped the following meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. In fact, he held a separate meeting on Thursday with several ministers on peace efforts in Aceh.
The issue of an internal conflict within the Susilo administration became bigger with the revelation that the President had actually issued a presidential decree before leaving for the U.S. delegating state duties to the vice president until Sept. 17, when the President arrives home. According to Presidential Decree No. 26/2005 on the vice president's assignment to carry out presidential duties, the President assigned Kalla to carry out his duties from Sept. 10 to Sept. 17.
Among the so-termed presidential duties are leading Cabinet meetings, giving directives to ministers and coordinating with the leadership of state institutions.
Yusril declined to say whether the President issued a similar decree every time he went abroad, saying that it was made by the Cabinet Secretariat.
Since assuming power in October last year, Susilo has made several official trips abroad, including to Chile; Malaysia and Singapore; Australia, New Zealand and East Timor; the United States as well as China and Japan. Yusril claimed the meetings via video conference were not Cabinet meetings but discussions about "common and general issues." In Bali, Vice President Jusuf Kalla dismissed speculations of declining relations with the President, saying that he did not have to attend the video conference meeting because the President only wanted to keep abreast of the latest issues in the country during his trip. "The video conference is only for ministers. I opened the first day and the next days were for the ministers. It's not a regular Cabinet meeting," he said.