The Cabinet reshuffle: Never too late to learn!

The Cabinet reshuffle: Never too late to learn!

J. Soedjati Djiwandono, Jakarta

During the more than three-decade long New Order regime of
president Soeharto, many people described the leadership style of
Soeharto using a rhythmic Javanese saying that meant "slow but
sure". In contrast, one could aptly describe the leadership style
of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) in the first year of
his presidency as "slow and never sure".

This could adversely affect the way he handles the complex
problems faced by this nation. He might find it difficult even to
set the order of priorities.

On the very first day of his presidency, the announcement of
the Cabinet was delayed repeatedly for hours. Should not he have
thought about this in the days before his swearing-in? Why did he
not learn from his predecessors, every one of whom spent a week
or more to form a Cabinet?

What was the hurry, anyway, when SBY promised to announce his
Cabinet right after his inauguration? Was he trying to break a
meaningless record? The hurly-burly of those long evening hours
following his inauguration could not but arouse speculation on
what was going on behind the scenes. Where there arguments
between SBY and Vice President Jusuf Kalla?

There seems to have been a drawn-out tug-of-war between the
two leaders about who was to be included in the Cabinet. It was
perhaps also related to the political parties that felt they had
the right to claim seats in the Cabinet because they thought
their support had contributed to SBY's victory. Unfortunately,
SBY seemed to have naively believed in all that rubbish. He
wrongly believed he owed his victory as the country's first-ever
directly elected president to these self-centered and self-
imagined "representatives of the people".

There was, for instance, a "political contract" between SBY
and the PKS! What for? Was it not more important that he had
agreed to a contract with the people, his voters? SBY does not
seem to be sure of his own worthiness, and thus his own power and
credibility as President. He has made himself an object of
blackmail by certain parties.

It is pathetic that as the first directly elected President,
SBY does not seem to understand the implications of a direct
presidential election. He once made a point of meeting with
Nurwahid of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the speaker of
the People's Consultative Assembly, in the Assembly building. Why
not invite Nurwahid to the presidential palace? SBY seems to have
been unaware that he is not subordinate to the MPR, which no
longer has the power to elect the president. Indeed, the MPR is
now a useless institution that should be abolished.

Perhaps his lack of experience in a leadership position, even
during his military career, has partly contributed to SBY's
diffident leadership. Added to that, his belated advanced
academic achievement -- obtaining his PhD not long before his
election as President -- perhaps did not help make him an
independent, solid and self-confident personality.

That seems to explain the impression SBY himself has created
of never being sure of himself, which has characterized his slow
and uncertain leadership. This has certainly disappointed the
voters. He named his Cabinet the "United Indonesia Cabinet of a
United Indonesia". This is similar to Megawati's "Mutually
Cooperative Cabinet" and Gus Dur's "Cabinet of National Unity".
But SBY seemed to have been referring to the unity among the
different political parties rather than to national unity. He
thinks more of the political parties than of the people who
elected him.

Interestingly, the Democratic Party, which was founded by SBY
and which officially nominated him as its presidential candidate,
has just a single minister in the Cabinet. An observer has
wrongly called this phenomenon "spectacular", while in fact it is
odd or bizarre.

SBY promised to appoint "professional" people as Cabinet
ministers. However, he must have misunderstood the meaning of the
word "professional". What is professional about appointing an
engineer turned businessman, former chairman of the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, to the position of coordinating minister
for economic affairs? What about assigning an accountant by
training and former minister of finance, Bambang Soedibyo, to the
post of minister of national education? He was in the Cabinet
perhaps more to represent the National Mandate Party (PAN) than
to represent any profession, although he was a university
professor.

Secretary of State Yusril Ihza Mahendra clearly represents the
Muslim-based Crescent Star Party (PBB), a small and sectarian-
oriented party, which did not even pass the electoral threshold
to be able to nominate a presidential candidate. Yet he still
refused to go through the fit and proper test at the House of
Representatives. Oddly, enough, the House kept its mouth shut and
SBY proceeded to accept him as secretary of state. SBY, Yusril
and House clearly disregarded the issue, which amounted to
neglecting an important part of the democratic mechanism of
checks and balances.

The sluggish leadership of SBY has recently been made clear by
his hesitant stand on a Cabinet reshuffle. The Jakarta Post (Dec.
5) referred to "speculation of a rift" between SBY and the Vice
President that clouded reshuffle. Indeed, it has been clear from
the outset that there has been some degree of dualism in the
government.

Meanwhile, their policies tend to pamper the rich while being
callous and insensitive to the plight of the poor, thereby
creating an ever-widening gap between the rich and poor.

Indeed, the long-awaited announcement of the Cabinet reshuffle
on the night of Dec. 5 was breaking news. It is never too late to
learn, Mr. President!

The writer, a political analyst, is a PhD graduate from the
London School of Economics and Political Science.