Susilo drops criticized Cabinet meetings

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.