Palace denies rift rumors, hints at reshuffle

The Presidential Palace has denied reports of a rift between President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, while Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam hinted that another Cabinet reshuffle may be on the horizon.

Dipo told a press conference on Thursday that a scene during the inauguration ceremony of 26 new Indonesian ambassadors at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta last week, in which Marty stood at the back of the room, was not a sign of him being isolated within the palace.

The position pricked the interest of some, as a senior diplomat attending the ceremony said the minister was supposed to be at the front, given he would be the direct supervisor of the new envoys. He described the situation as “quite uncommon”.

“I’ve read The Jakarta Post, which says that there is a rift between the Foreign Minister and the President. I tell you it’s wrong. The report is nonsense,” Dipo said.

“[Marty] was busy talking with other ministers when the President arrived at the room [for the inauguration ceremony]. The three coordinating ministers and other ministers had been standing at the front, [so Marty stayed at the back],” he added.

Dipo emphasized that there were no problems between the President and the Foreign Minister.

He did not explain, however, the reason behind Yudhoyono’s preference to consult with Indonesian Ambassador to the US Dino Patti Djalal when experiencing difficulties answering a question from an Australian journalist during the ASEAN Summit in Bali last month, when both Marty and presidential spokesman Teuku Faizasyah had immediately gestured to help.

Dino has been rumored to be a strong candidate for Marty’s replacement. The event in Bali was among the first eliciting rumors of the rift.

They emerged after Marty said the US plan to deploy 2,500 US Marines to the Australian city of Darwin might trigger “tension” and “mistrust” in the region. US President Barack Obama, who attended the East Asia Summit in Bali shortly after announcing the Darwin plan, reportedly expressed his distaste to Yudhoyono in relation to Marty’s remarks.

Prior to Dipo’s statement, Faizasyah also said that the rumors were untrue, and that the President and the Foreign Minister were in perfectly good relations.

Although denying the rumors, Dipo did not hesitate to share with journalists during the same press conference on Thursday that another Cabinet reshuffle, may be on the horizon.

He said that his office, aside from the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4), had overseen the performance of members of the Cabinet.

Dipo said he’d made specific notes on ministers choosing to stay quiet when they should have spoken up. “I’ve been continually monitoring those ministers who should have spoken up as part of their responsibilities but instead stayed silent,” he said.