Susilo's great opportunity

Susilo's great opportunity

Congratulations are in order to president-elect, Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono. On Oct. 4, he was finally confirmed as the
overwhelming victor in Indonesia's first direct elections for the
post.

Incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri indirectly conceded
defeat on Oct. 5, tearfully calling on Indonesians to accept the
election result, although without explicitly acknowledging she
had lost. That opens the path for the former security minister to
begin the task of forming a new government, ahead of his
inauguration on Oct. 20.

It's a crucial task which will offer the first indication of
how ready Indonesia's first popularly elected president is to
break with the backroom politics of the past. He is in a position
to use his overwhelming mandate to step up the fight against
terrorism while also pushing through other much-needed changes,
from combating corruption to overhauling labor laws.

Some early indications are encouraging. Susilo wants to
conduct formal interviews with the candidates for key portfolios
and require appointees to sign a contract spelling out their
commitment to their duties. He's also pledged that the new
cabinet will include more technocrats, chosen for their expertise
rather than their political affiliation -- which has been the
main criteria for appointment until now.

Among the most closely watched appointments will be his
choices of a new attorney general and a minister for justice.
Indonesian and foreign observers-alike will be hoping to see the
appointment of strong-willed individuals who will initiate the
sweeping reforms that are needed to overhaul a legal system
plagued by widespread corruption and often inexplicable court
verdicts.

Equally important will be whether the new president appoints a
team of reformist-minded economic ministers, capable of
overhauling labor laws and other restrictive regulations that
have done so much to discourage foreign investment. But foreign
investors are not going to return in any large numbers for as
long as they fear being blown up in the heart of Jakarta -- a
risk highlighted by the bomb that exploded outside the Australian
embassy during the election campaign, killing 10 people.

So we'll also be watching for any sign the new president will
intensify the fight against Indonesia's Islamic extremists by
formally outlawing Jamaah Islamiyah, the al-Qaeda affiliate
believed responsible for this and other attacks, and closing the
handful of Muslim boarding schools where it recruits suicide
bombers.

Susilo showed little enthusiasm for such measures when he
served as Megawati's security minister, prior to his resignation
in March. We hope the overwhelming popular mandate he has
received since then, which gives Susilo an authority his
predecessor lacked, has changed his mind. But his cabinet lineup
will be a crucial indicator of whether such hopes are warranted.

While his need for political leverage in parliament is
understandable it can be hoped that his cabinet will be made up
of ministers of proven ability, aside from party affiliation. He
will need an able cabinet if he is to take a strong stance on a
wide range of issues -- particularly fighting terrorism and
corruption -- that are likely to prove highly controversial in
some political circles. At worst, the new president could be
dragged down the path of trading cabinet posts for political
support that discredited Megawati's administration in the eyes of
the Indonesian public.

Susiloo was elected because the voters were fed up with
political horse trading. His constituents are the Indonesian
public, not a parliament that enjoys far less popular support. By
far the best strategy would be to ignore the clamor from
politicians bent on preserving their privileges, and stick to
appointing talented individuals untainted by involvement in
previous administrations. Only then will we able to congratulate
him on ending the country's backroom politics and having a real
chance of pushing through the sweeping refort as that Indonesia
so desperately needs.
-- The Asian Wall Street Journal, Hong Kong