Susilo to ask ministers to sign contracts
The Jakarta Post Bogor/Jakarta
Prospective president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Saturday he would require all ministerial candidates to sign contracts spelling out their commitment to state duties.
"I will summon more than one candidate (for a Cabinet position) and ask them to draw up a contract on their commitment. The process will be transparent and accountable," Susilo told reporters after defending his thesis for a doctorate of agroeconomics at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (IPB).
The country's previous leaders picked their ministers without asking about their working programs and commitment to the position, Susilo said.
"Therefore, I will be very careful in setting the requirements and selecting the best candidates for each ministerial post," he said.
Selection is expected to begin soon after the General Elections Commission (KPU) announces on Thursday the outcome of the Sept. 20 election runoff. The provisional vote-count saw Susilo maintain an unbeatable 20 percent lead over the incumbent, Megawati Soekarnoputri.
Hundreds of people attended Susilo's doctorate conferral ceremony presided over by Bunasor Sanim, an IPB agroeconomics professor. A number of video screens were available outside the packed hall for those who had no access to the event.
Among the guests were Minister of National Education Abdul Malik Fadjar, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Rokhmin Dahuri, Muslim leader Solahuddin Wahid, media mogul Surya Paloh, senior journalists Rosihan Anwar and Bambang Harymurti, lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis, former coordinating minister for the economy Rizal Ramli, economists Mari Pangestu and Lin Che Wei, as well as political expert Andi Mallarangeng.
Some of them have been tipped to fill Susilo's Cabinet.
Susilo's wife Kristiani Herawati, son Edi Baskoro Yudhoyono and mother-in-law Sarwo Edhie Wibowo also witnessed the president-in-waiting receive his doctorate, which capped three years of study.
The team of examiners awarded Susilo an excellent score for his defense of his dissertation, Agriculture and Rural Development as a Means to Overcome Poverty and Unemployment: An Economic and Political Analysis of Fiscal Policies.
Meanwhile, a number of women activists criticized Susilo for ignoring gender equality in allocating only four seats for women in his Cabinet, which is expected to comprise 31 or 32 ministers.
Among them are noted activists Saparinah Sadli, Herawati Diah, Rita Kolibonso, Smita Notosusanto, Atas Habsyah and Emmy Hafild.
"He should refrain from setting such a quota. Women deserve the same opportunities as men. Susilo must select his aides based on their professionalism, capabilities and track record, not by gender," said Saparinah.
Smita said women deserved a greater chance, as their votes had significantly contributed to Susilo's victory.
"We don't beg for Cabinet positions. Women simply deserve them. It is he who must take the initiative," she said, adding that women activists would not pay a visit to Susilo without an invitation.
They suggested that Susilo select women professionals for the posts of education, health, and manpower and transmigration, among others.
Their suggested candidates include health expert Nafsiah Mboy, education expert Yayah Koswara, Muslim scholar Musdah Mulia and rights campaigner Zoemrotin K. Soesilo.