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From Sri Mulyani to Martowardojo: A continuity
The appointment of Agus Martowardojo to replace the recently “ousted” Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister has received positive response from both politicians and the market
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he appointment of Agus Martowardojo to replace the recently “ousted” Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister has received positive response from both politicians and the market.
There is no doubt that Agus has a strong track record, and thus it is natural that optimism runs high with his appointment.
Filling the big shoes left by Mulyani is no easy task for anyone, particularly when expectations run high as they are today. Thus, we should be careful with our optimism and instead be realistic.
Of course, there is reason to be optimistic if we look at the track records, experience, and characters of Agus who the president has confidently chosen to replace Mulyani. Particularly on the issue of bureaucratic reform, Agus’ achievement in propping Bank Mandiri up as the leading bank in Indonesia through internal reforms has been heralded as one of the reform “miracles” in the Indonesian reformasi era.
With this track record, the general public as well as the market expects that Agus can continue the bureaucratic reform that Mulyani began and to some extent has implemented quiet successfully. There is no doubt that Mulyani is the one who spearheaded the reform in her ministry and has set high standards for others. One can confidently say that her series of achievements is one of the reasons why President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has been perceived by the public to have successfully implemented bureaucratic reform.
Despite having a highly qualified individual replacing Mulyani, we have to realize that the overall political context has not changed dramatically. Related to the continuity of the bureaucratic reform agenda, there is reason to be cautious because the overall political context has the tendency to encourage only selective reforms, i.e. reforms only on aspects that do not threaten political and financial interests of those in power.
Mulyani’s experience warns those who are too optimistic that political considerations matter most. Mulyani’s experience should teach us that the existing Indonesian political context is willing to sacrifice exceptionally capable individuals for the sake of short-term political gains.
In the name of maintaining political stability, harmony and the pursuit of “government effectiveness”, too progressive individuals can be sacrificed. To put it bluntly, reform minded and capable individuals will still face difficulties challening politicians who have a strong appetite for short-term political and financial gains.
The political continuities are easily observable. We still have a president who needs strong support from the political parties and he seems to put political stability, harmony and “government effectiveness” as his main priorities. Thus he will continue to work hard to avoid another “Bank Century bailout” in the future. This means that when the reform agenda puts political stability and harmony at risk, there is no reason and evidence yet to think that Yudhoyono will choose the former over the latter.
We still have politically powerful politicians in the political parties who have strong business interests. As Mulyani mentioned in one of her speeches, it is not uncommon for politicians with business interests to take part and influence the decision and policy making processes in the government.
In addition, today we have the newly established Joint Secretariat of the government coalition, which aims to improve “coordination” and “communication” between parties. It is no secret the term “coordination” and “communication” can be interpreted as a process of bargaining, which makes the Joint Secretariat a place where aspirations and interests of parties and politicians will be heard, considered and negotiated.
Consequently, it will not be surprising if too aggressive or progressive reform agendas, which have the potential to disturb the political and financial interests of those in the coalition, will be stalled during the “coordination” and “communication” process.
Agus, with his highly qualified credentials, massive experience and strong character, will be able to pursue some degree of reform, but it is questionable whether he will pursue reform that has the potential to threaten the political and financial interests of those who have strong political bases and support.
One other question remains: Will Yudhoyono sacrifice another “Mulyani” in order to secure political stability and harmony, or will he be courageous enough as Mulyani was, not to be dictated by any interests when it comes to pursuing a progressive reform? Only time will tell.
The writer is a researcher with the Department of Politics and International Relations at CSIS Jakarta. He is a PhD candidate at Northern Illinois University.
