Susilo to ask ministers to sign contracts

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.