It’s SBY’s call, let him do it, indifferent PDI-P, Golkar say

Opposition parties have responded apathetically to speculation that the President had renewed considerations to replace several “low-performing” ministers.

The chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) wing in the House of Representatives, Tjahjo Kumolo, said Sunday his party was not eager to have one of its members in the Cabinet.

“Our role as the opposition is still the same and always will be. We will not be swayed by pragmatic options,” Tjahjo told The Jakarta Post.

He said having PDI-P members in the Cabinet was not worth compromising the party’s stance.

Last week, a legislator from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, Ruhut Sitompul, mentioned the possibility of PDI-P politicians being brought into the Cabinet to give the Golkar Party a slap on the wrist for its repeated flare-ups with the Democratic Party. Golkar is a partner in the Democratic Party-led ruling coalition.

The PDI-P did not take Ruhut’s statement seriously, Tjahjo said.

Speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle has been widespread for several months, but it was put on the back burner due to more pressing issues, such as natural disasters and the state visits of Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and US President Barack Obama.

The issue resurfaced again after a Cabinet meeting last week, where Yudhoyono publicly criticized his ministers, calling them “too slow” in responding to public needs. Political observers saw the public reprimand as a signal for a reshuffle.

Deputy House speaker and Golkar politician Priyo Budi Santoso said he felt the latest development could lead to a reshuffle. “If the President wants to change his ministers, let him go ahead. If he wants to replace those from Golkar with PDI-P politicians, let him go ahead. It’s his prerogative,” he said.

Golkar has three ministers in the Cabinet: Coordinating Public Welfare Minister Agung Laksono, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Fadel Muhammad and Industry Minister MS Hidayat.

Mohammad Qodari, the executive director of political survey institute Indo Barometer, said several incidents at the House highlighted the deteriorating ties between the Democratic Party and Golkar.

Last week, Golkar legislators in the House’s political affairs commission rejected calls to join Democratic Party legislators in efforts to prevent politicians from becoming members of the General Election Commission (KPU).

Qodari said Yudhoyono himself had given indications of a pending reshuffle.

“There were several rumors of a reshuffle, but what happened [in the Cabinet meeting] was the strongest signal since Yudhoyono entered his second term in office,” Qodari said.

Later that day, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the head of the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4), said a number of ministers got “red marks” in the latest bimonthly Cabinet performance evaluation conducted by the unit. Kuntoro, however, refused to identify the ministers.

Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha denied any plans for a reshuffle. “The President gets advice from many people, but the decision remains his.”