TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo's cabinet reshuffle two weeks ago prompted a few questions. Among them, why weren't the non-performing ministers replaced? What was the President's reason for retaining ministers who held positions that did not match their competence and their academic backgrounds?
Another peculiarity about the reshuffle which Jokowi calls a 'government consolidation' is the choice of controversial Rizal Ramli as coordinating minister for maritime affairs. That he made critical statements about government policy is not the issue but Rizal stand in opposite view of the also newly-appointed Economic Coordinating Minister Darmin Nasution.
President Jokowi describes Rizal as a fighter. That seems to be an apt description of the economist, whom many regard as a maverick. Just a day after his inauguration as coordinating minister for maritime affairs, Rizal was exchanging words with State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Rini Soemarno. He later had similar exchanges with no less than Vice-President Jusuf Kalla himelf. Instead of bringing cohesion, Rizal seems to be igniting conflicts within the cabinet.
The open spats between Jokowi's ministers is not benefiting anyone except if Rizal's job in the cabinet is designed to create some kind of 'political balance' in the cabinet, let's say to balance Kalla's perceived maneuvers. Rizal claimed he became minister at the behest of the President, but others suggest that he was proposed by Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, presidential chief of staff and now concurrently the coordinating minister for politics, law and security, a report that was confirmed by Luhut himself.
Such conflicts are bound to affect the government's focus, particularly as it faces the threat of an economic crisis. This time around, the shocks should not be regarded lightly, given global factors like the devaluation of China's renminbi, which has far-reaching impact on other countries. In Indonesia, this can be devastating, because market confidence in the government is already very low, as evident in the lackluster condition of the rupiah these days.
Rizal's criticisms may be justified. The target of producing 35,000 megawatt additional power in five year's time by the Jokowi-Kalla government seems exceedingly ambitious. As comparison, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's government was able to produce about 25,000 megawatt electricity in 10 years time, and that's through an accelerated program. We are well aware that the major stumbling blocks, such as land clearances, have yet to be resolved.
Rizal's criticism over the rapid railway system project, which is likely to be won by a Chinese company and the plan to purchase wide-bodied aircraft by Garuda Indonesia, is also valid. The Jakarta-Bandung fast train is clearly not a priority, particularly since there already exists different modes of transportation between the two cities. The purchase of aircraft for Garuda's long-distance routes is also debatable. Essentially, at issue here is the unethical way in which Rizal openly attacks his fellow ministers and the Vice-President.
He should, instead, be conveying his criticisms at cabinet meetings. If from the beginning he disapproves of the government's programs, he should have refused to join the cabinet. The current controversy over Rizal makes the government appear like a ship manned by quarreling engineers, giving the impression that the captain seems to have lost direction. Yet, the ship is about to head into a big storm the economic crisis. This inter-ministerial discord is sure to have an impact on the market's confidence in the government.
The President should resolve this problem immediately. His reprimand of Rizal, as conveyed by palace spokesperson Teten Masduki, was the right thing to do. But Jokowi must ensure that the cabinet is truly consolidated, because the potential for another open conflict is ever present, given the presence of the controversial Rizal Ramli. The difference in the economic viewpoints of Rizal and Darmin, as well as with those of other ministers, could trigger a clash of government policies.
A quarrelsome cabinet would render Jokowi's prospects of bringing in foreign investors to be inconsequential. Yet, the need for direct investment is critical, to stimulate the flow of foreign exchange into the country. The problem today is whether President Jokowi is able to rapidly and realistically consolidate his government. Or, whether in the interest of political balance, he will just allow his ministers to keep on fighting while the economy flounders. (*)
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