The new commander of the health portfolio promises she will be competent in the role despite criticism following her appointment.

Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih made her maiden public appearance at a health expo Wednesday after her installment last week.

The public did not know much about Endang, who abruptly replaced other Nila Juwita Anfasa Muluk just a day before the President announced his Cabinet lineup last Tuesday.

Hours after her selection, rumors arose, including from her predecessor, Siti Fadilah Supari who organized a press conference to respond to the President's decision.

Siti accused Endang of smuggling H5N1 bird flu virus samples overseas.

Officials at the ministry were also shocked by Endang's appointment.

"Many people phoned me minutes after asking who Endang was," an official who asked for anonymity told The Jakarta Post.

"But I could not answer because I didn't know Endang *at the time*."

Endang began her career at the Health Ministry in 1990, but she was demoted by Siti in 2008, an action many officials believed was her punishment for carrying virus specimens abroad without consulting the minister.

"The demotion was an ordinary thing and as staff, we must abide by orders," Endang said after her recent inauguration.

The mother of three holds a masters and PhD from the School of Public Health at the prestigious Harvard University in Boston, United States.

A graduate of the University of Indonesia in 1979, Endang joined the Pertamina Hospital in Jakarta as a clinician.

She then moved to the Waipare Health Center in East Nusa Tenggara as head of the community health center before joining the Jakarta Health agency in 1983.

In 2001, Endang moved to the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, as a technical adviser at the Department of Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response.

Endang was named coordinator and researcher of the avian influenza program for the Health Ministry's Center for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research and Program Development in 2006, Jakarta.

In 2007, she was promoted to director of the center.

Additionally, she worked as part of an advisory team and as a country consultant for foreign agencies including WHO, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Australian government's overseas aid program (AusAID) and the World Bank.

She also wrote a series of articles for international journals, including "Epidemiology of cases of H5N1 virus infection in Indonesia" in 2007.

Responding to the accusation, she said "That's not true.

"I've never taken the virus overseas. I've never sold it.

"I only conducted research with my colleagues."

Endang also denied allegations her appointment was backed by foreign organizations and the local tobacco industry, saying it was only a rumor based on her frequent partnership with foreign researchers.

She said she would follow in the steps of her predecessor by maintaining the suspension of the US Navy's Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2 (Namru-2) laboratory in Jakarta.

"We had to close Namru-2 because it was a military unit," Endang said.

"But Indonesia's cooperation with the US will continue and covers a wide range of areas, including the operation of the biomedical lab.

"Details of this partnership will be provided soon," she said.

"The point is it aims to advance biomedical technology."

Namru-2 began operation in Indonesia in 1970 as a joint-research laboratory to study virus strains under a partnership between the US Navy and the Indonesian Health Ministry.

The laboratory is located in the ministry's research and development center.

But the two countries have agreed to form a center for medical research to forge cooperation in joint-research activities.

Popular

Bali to ban production of bottled water under 1 liter

Greater Jakarta LRT breaks new ridership record

Looking beyond South Jakarta