Taufik's appointment smacks of nepotism
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The role of the President's husband, Taufik Kiemas, in the government is coming under public scrutiny after he lead a delegation of Cabinet ministers on an official visit to China last week.
Critics have claimed that without any official explanation acceptable to the public, his appointment as a state delegate amounts to nepotism.
State/Cabinet Secretary Bambang Kesowo, the most authoritative official in charge of state protocol, refused to disclose anything when journalists asked him for comments.
State Minister of Administrative Reform Feisal Tamin said Indonesia had yet to draw up a regulation on the husband of the president taking an overseas trip.
Taufik is a legislator from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), which his wife Megawati Soekarnoputri leads, though he has no posting in government.
Known as a gas-pump billionaire, Taufik's official trip to Beijing from Dec. 17 to Dec. 20 was to negotiate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) deal between the two countries and follow up on the reopening of the Bank of China in Indonesia.
The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing has described the visit as a success. Officials of the two countries signed three memorandums of understanding on business cooperation.
Critics say that Taufik should quit his legislative seat if he wants to concentrate on a job in government so as not to muddle the two different functions.
A legislator from Golkar Party, Ade Komaruddin, said that it was okay for the President to appoint any person she considered capable of conducting any special mission for the country.
"But, to do that there should be public accountability and official reasons to avoid any negative presumption. There should be an explanation on the capability of the person," Ade said.
He added that without transparency, the appointment would be reminiscent of the then president Soeharto appointing his daughter Siti Hardijanti Rukmana as minister of social affairs.
However, the public were able to accept the appointment of Zannuba Arifah Chafsoh Rahman, the daughter of former president Abdurrahman Wahid in 1999 as a persona assistant to help her nearly-blind father.
"As long as there is reasonable explanation it is fine?" Ade said.
The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, called Taufik the Indonesian President's Special Envoy.
He led five ministers in the visit, Minister of Energy and Natural Resource Purnomo Yusgiantoro, Minister of Trade and Industry Rini M.S. Soewandi, Minister of Settlement and Public Works Soenarno, Minister of Maritime and Fisheries Rokhmin Dahuri and State Minister of State Enterprises Laksamana Sukardi.
The delegation met with the Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and other senior government officials.
An official from PDI Perjuangan told the Post that the President had officially appointed Taufik as a special envoy to lead the delegation.
The official said that the President was once asked about Taufik's role and she replied that everything was legal.