Editorial: A vice foreign minister?

Wed, 03/26/2008 1:15 AM  |  Opinion

The "scent" of next year's legislative and presidential elections was strong in the air when the House and politicians reacted to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's plan to appoint a vice foreign minister.

While acknowledging their rejection was not completely baseless, we believe the critics paid little attention to the strong rationale behind the President's plan.

Their comments were dominated by suspicion that the President has a hidden political agenda to ensure his reelection next year, but the President has not said anything so far about his political future after 2009.

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda tried to tone down the negative response by announcing the newly created position was not for a political appointee, but a senior Indonesian diplomat would assume the post to help him as the country's chief diplomat.

Unfortunately, the minister's remark can be interpreted as the ministry's refusal of outsiders for the key position. It would be more elegant if the Minister refrained from making such statements and said simply that the President had the prerogative to make the position.

We fully understand the President's argument: A second key figure is urgently needed to handle foreign diplomacy issues because Minister Hassan is often preoccupied with his overseas agenda.

The vice minister would be in charge of (among others) handling public diplomacy and dealing with state institutions like the House of Representatives, or to represent the minister at less urgent international forums or activities.

The appointment of a vice minister is a strategic policy the President must make. Many other countries have similar policies.

The reluctance of the House to ratify the ASEAN Charter is one example of where the government's public diplomacy has failed to convince the House of the importance of the charter to the regional organization.

Other ministries and state agencies are not supportive of Indonesian diplomatic activities because, as many officials say, they have nothing to do with foreign affairs.

But we also wish to remind the government that the creation of the post would not mean anything unless the government--especially the President and Minister Hassan--can prove it will make a significant contribution to the betterment of the state and not just serve short-term interests of the incumbent government.

The Ministry is facing serious human resource problems especially in its overseas postings. Our embassies abroad often have no ambassadors for extended periods, as happened in Malaysia and India. The prolonged vacuum can insult the concerned countries, as though their countries are not important enough for Indonesia.

Minister Hassan is strongly committed to regenerating the ministry. Younger and capable diplomats now hold top positions in the ministry. They have more self confidence because they also have better education qualifications.

While it is a positive measure, we also heard complaints among Ministry officials that the ambitious improvement plan has often been imposed at the expense of our senior diplomats. --- how does this relate to the new position? (would it be a senior position or not?)

Several names have emerged as potential candidates, including presidential spokesman Dino Patti Djalal, Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations Marty Natalegawa and senior diplomat Makarim Wibisono.

Whoever becomes the Vice Foreign Minister, one thing they must remember is they are assigned to assist the foreign minister and not to act as a rival.

The new position is a necessity, but the President needs to anticipate possible rivalry between the two top key figures in the ministry as often occurred during Soeharto's reign.

Minister Hassan has major diplomatic agendas until the incumbent Cabinet ends its term next year. The presence of a second person at his ministry should help him in meeting these demands.

No less important is that the government needs to 'pull its finger out' and stop the late appointments of Indonesian ambassadors to other countries. It is an embarrassment for both Indonesia and our hosts.

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