Theo tipped as envoy to Australia
Theo tipped as envoy to Australia
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Golkar Party deputy chairman Theo Sambuaga is widely tipped to become the next Indonesian ambassador to Australia after the current envoy was called home to fill a senior position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat returned to Jakarta on Saturday, a spokesman for the Indonesian Embassy in Canberra told The Jakarta Post.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday that Sudjadnan, 49, would be installed as the secretary-general of the ministry on May 3. Australian sources described Sudjadnan as a "protege" of Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirayuda.
"Hassan is trying to make the foreign ministry a more professional outfit. He is installing his people in key positions," the source said.
The Indonesian Embassy spokesman in Canberra said senior diplomat Imron Cotan would act as charge d'affaires until a new ambassador was appointed. "It may take up to three months before we get a new ambassador," the spokesman said. "We don't know who it is going to be."
But several sources told the Post that Sambuaga, 52, was expected to be the new ambassador.
Sambuaga, who was first elected to the House of Representatives in 1982, was appointed minister of manpower in March 1998 and two months later was made minister of public housing in then president B.J. Habibie's reform cabinet.
Sambuaga, who was educated at the University of Indonesia and Johns Hopkins University in the United States, has declined to comment on the speculation.
Australian and Indonesian officials dismissed speculation that there was anything controversial about the recall of Sudjadnan, only 14 months into a three-year posting.
"It would be wrong to characterize this as a recall of the ambassador in a customary diplomatic sense," a spokesman for Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer said.
"He has been appointed to a new and senior position in the Indonesian foreign ministry. We have worked very well with him and wish him well in the future."
Elsewhere, Yasril Ananta Baharuddin, a member of the House of Representatives' Commission I for defense, foreign, and political affairs said Sudjadnan was recalled not because of any lack of competence but rather because the country needed his skills in the foreign ministry.
He said that Sudjadnan's replacement could come from outside the ministry. "The most important thing is, he (Sudjadnan's successor) has a comprehensive knowledge of international politics and understands the national interest," Yasril said.
Yasril's colleagues on the commission, Djoko Susilo and Permadi, urged the government to appoint a qualified candidate to Canberra.
Permadi, of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) faction, said the candidate must put the national interest first and dare to counter provocative statements from the host country on every issue, including the separatist movement in Papua. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, Djoko Susilo of the Reform faction suggested that the successor to the current ambassador should not come from within the foreign ministry.
Both Djoko and Permadi admitted that they had no idea about who the candidates for the ambassadorship in Sidney were.
"We will probably be given their names after the end of the recess," said Permadi, referring to the House recess that will last until May 10.