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Govt credibility at risk as Cabinet rift goes online
Observers say that an internal Cabinet rift involving two ministers over the fate of an important gas block has stained the governmentâs credibility and cast doubt on its ability to effectively run the country as heated and impolite exchanges between the two have gone online to a wide public
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bservers say that an internal Cabinet rift involving two ministers over the fate of an important gas block has stained the government's credibility and cast doubt on its ability to effectively run the country as heated and impolite exchanges between the two have gone online to a wide public.
Following harsh comments from Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry Sudirman Said regarding a 'Cabinet colleague' that has frequently tried to stymie reform in the energy sector, an apparent retaliatory strike was delivered by Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli.
Rizal uploaded a 'meme' on his Twitter account quoting Sudirman's words: 'The one who lies, who claims to know best, who wants to change Masela's [gas block] investors, please stop telling lies to the people. One day your bad intentions will be uncovered.'
Rizal commented: 'Well, Well, well. Look who's busy analyzing his own behavior. So funny.' The comment takes Sudirman and Rizal's rift to the next level over the development of gas-rich Masela block.
Sudirman, along with the Upstream Oil and Gas Regulatory Task Force (SKKMigas), defended the proposal from the block's contractors, Japan's Inpex and Shell, for an offshore development scheme. Rizal, supported by a team from the Institut Teknologi Bandung, said an onshore scheme would be more beneficial for local
development.
'This is so indecent and inappropriate. The President has to decide. If he cannot curb the situation, it is either reshuffle one of them or both,' said public policy expert Agus Pambagyo.
Tony Prasetiantono, an economist from Gadjah Mada University, said the current situation was repelling investors because the government could not provide certainty to their businesses in such a febrile environment.
'A credible Cabinet is a Cabinet that keeps noise away and when it is in public domain, the Cabinet's voice is united. It's good to have debate so that good decisions are made and qualified decisions on strategic issues can be taken. However, it should all be kept within the internal Cabinet and should not sprawl out into the public sphere,' Tony added.
Many think that the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister ' established under President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo's administration in part to meet his ambition of transforming Indonesia into a global maritime power ' has backfired and has only added to the Cabinet's problems.
In the previous government, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry coordinated with the Coordinating Economic Minister on issues related to state revenues or royalties paid to the government.
'From the very beginning, we can only guess what the maritime concept is about and what we are going to do about it. This is the price that we have to pay when we step in into unclear territory,' Tony said.
