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Sjafrie to cover growing defense workload
Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has justified the creation of a new deputy ministerial post at his office, citing more duties and responsibilities the ministry is facing
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D
efense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro has justified the creation of a new deputy ministerial post at his office, citing more duties and responsibilities the ministry is facing.
“The President said during the officiating ceremony that the duties and responsibilities now and in the future would increase steeply,” Purnomo told a press con-ference at the Defense Ministry on Wednesday.
“Therefore, a deputy minister is needed to assist with many things.”
On Wednesday, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono installed Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as the new deputy defense minister, together with Lukita Dinarsyah as the new state national development planning deputy minister, Fasli Jalal as national education deputy minister, and Dipo Alam as Cabinet secretary.
Sjafrie was previously the ministry secretary-general from 2005, under then defense minister Juwono Sudarsono.
The deputy ministerial post is regulated under article 10 of the 2008 Law on State Ministries.
In the case of the Defense Ministry, Purnomo said office would begin with the modernization of big-budget weapons systems.
“This year we will have a budget of around Rp 42 trillion (US$4.52 billion, second only to the National Education Ministry with Rp 55 trillion,” he said.
“The third-largest budget is the Public Works Ministry with Rp 37 trillion.”
This year’s state budget hovers at around Rp 1 quadrillion (Rp 1,000,000,000,000,000).
Purnomo said most of the ministries with deputy ministerial posts had large budgets.
“The Defense Ministry not only manages its own household but also to some extent the households of the Indonesian Military [TNI] and the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, in terms of their budgets,” he said.
Purnomo said he would later sit down with Sjafrie on dividing their responsibilities.
“But Pak Sjafrie is not a new person in the defense sector, so he does not need a transition period,”
he said.
“[Sjafrie] will also be very helpful in revitalizing defense industries through the Defense Industry Policy Committee [KKIP].”
Defense industry revitalization is only one of the ministry’s special duties in addition to its main duties to uphold state sovereignty and protect Indonesia’s territorial integrity.
The ministry’s other special duties include border management, peacekeeping operations, overcoming illegal activities such as illegal fishing, illegal logging and fuel smuggling, supporting police in fighting terrorism and natural disaster relief.
“A secretary-general is appointed by presidential decree, so until a decree is issued to revoke Pak Sjafrie from that position, he will assume both posts,” Purnomo said.
“However, we will propose a candidate for a new secretary-general immediately.”
Purnomo said the new secretary-general would focus on managing the defense ministry’s internal activities.
On whether Sjafrie had to let go of his military career after being appointed as deputy minister, Purnomo only said regulations required a deputy minister to be a professional and career-oriented official.
“That is the regulation to date, but it could change,” he said.
“[Sjafrie’s appointment] was not conducted at the discretion of the defense minister, but the President.”
Various human rights groups have accused Sjafrie of rights abuses during the 1998 riots, as well as in East Timor. However, he has never been brought to trial, and his name has been cleared by the government.
