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New Indonesian Cabinet Criticized
By Kazi Mahmood
JAKARTA, Aug 9 (IslamOnline) - The much-expected cabinet line-up of new Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri announced on Thursday has not fared well among the Indonesian press and public in general.
The announcement of the new 32-member body was greeted lukewarmly as there are many familiar faces in the cabinet, and the return of some did not please the media in particular.
Megawati said she named a coalition cabinet dominated by highly qualified nonpartisan specialists and professionals in their fields. The president said her cabinet, which she promised would be "reshuffle" free, would try to pull Indonesia back from the brink of "disintegration".
The ministerial lineup, much to the displeasure of some sections of the population includes retired generals and oft-feuding politicians as public criticism in Jakarta hinged around the opinion that they did not want to see the shadow of Suharto within a supposed reform cabinet.
But the announcement may have ended three weeks of power-brokering between the three major figures within the new government, Megawati; Amien Rais, the influential speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR); and Hamza Haz, the new vice president.
One top government official in Megawati's cabinet is former general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who will serve as senior security minister. Yudhoyono is among six members of the new government who had been either fired or quit former president Abdurrahman Wahid's troubled 21-month administration.
In Jakarta, the press described Megawati's cabinet as a "cut and paste" job, even though the president appointed 14 new faces, all of whom are regarded as non-political technocrats or experts in their fields.
The top economic minister will be outgoing Ambassador to the United States, Dorodjatun Kuntjoro-Jakti, a former economics professor.
Hasan Wirayudha, an envoy engaged in peace talks with separatists from the war-torn Aceh province, was named foreign minister.
Matori Abdul Jalil, a civilian, is defense minister. Abdul Jalil had been chairman of Wahid's party, the National Development Party (PKB). He deserted the former leader to support Megawati during voting at the MPR special sessions, which ultimately released Wahid from power. He had been sacked twice in two weeks from the PKB.
Overall, Megawati's cabinet has set its priorities, with the economy one sector it intends to tackle immediately. Its main duty will be to rescue Indonesia from its prolonged economic slump.
The cabinet also has to patch the country back together after years of separatist calls from Irian Jaya, Aceh, Riau and the Malukus.
Observers in Jakarta Thursday morning told IslamOnline that they hoped the cabinet succeeds in maintaining the unity of the archipelago in the face of rebellions.
They also mentioned the escalating ethnic and religious violence around the archipelago of 220 million people, of which a vast majority, 90%, are Muslims.
On Thursday afternoon, the press in Indonesia accused Megawati's economic team as being pro-American. An expert in economics said to the Kompas newspaper that the cabinet was "pro-America, and will be a good thing for the stock and money markets in Indonesia."
"However, it is unclear whether this will be acceptable to the people of Indonesia," he said.
Although there seems to be no pressure from the public and the students, in general, to push Megawati to prosecute cases of corruption and human rights abuses left over from Suharto's 32-year dictatorship, there is a need for the new president to keep promises.
However, Megawati has yet to announce a new attorney general, who will again act as the government's voice in challenging those accused of graft, rights abuses and the dilapidation of the country's economy.
The naming of several retired generals, and one pro-Suharto remnant, to her cabinet has doused some of the hopes and aspirations of the reformists.
The appointment of A.M. Hendropriyono, a retired lieutenant general, as the new intelligence chief - accused of ordering the slaughter of more than 100 unarmed civilians in southern Sumatra in 1989 when local villagers resisted the seizure of their land by Suharto cronies - has brought some criticism.
Agum Gumelar, another former senior general who served under Wahid, took over the transport ministry.
"The line-up shows the fragility of the Megawati regime, who does not have a majority in parliament, nor in the cabinet," said an editor in Jakarta.
Her ruling coalition includes representatives from several conservative Muslim parties, and Suharto's former party, the Golkar.
The presence of the army in the cabinet is also a sign of gratitude by "Ibu Mega", as she is fondly referred to. The military supported Megawati against Wahid.
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