Cabinet members to leave party positions

JAKARTA. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) executives defended on Tuesday president-elect Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decision to allocate almost half of the seats in his Cabinet to political party members, saying that the politicians could be counted on to work professionally.

PDI-P executive Puan Maharani said that politicians appointed to Jokowi’s Cabinet could also be professionals who happened to be members of political parties.

“There should be no such dichotomy. A politician can be as capable as a professional,” Puan said.

Under Jokowi’s plan, the Cabinet will consist of 34 ministries, led by 16 party politicians and 18 non-party professionals, similar to the current Cabinet of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, which includes 17 politicians.

Secretary-general of the PDI-P Tjahjo Kumolo said that Jokowi would thoroughly screen candidates from political parties.

“[We will] meet the chairmen of the parties [to see] their track records and which areas suit [the candidates],” Tjahjo said.

Tjahjo also insisted that politicians would have to quit their positions in their respective political parties once they were appointed to the Cabinet. “I think it would be more effective for party leaders [to quit if appointed to the Cabinet] to avoid conflicts of interest,” Tjahjo told reporters.

Puan, however, said that it was not urgent for politicians to leave their positions in political parties once they were appointed as ministers.

“We should reconsider if the proposal would be best for the nation,” she told reporters.

Puan, who serves as an executive on the PDI-P central board, is expected to be appointed as a minister in Jokowi’s Cabinet.

Jokowi’s Monday announcement has raised questions, as he had earlier pledged to avoid transactional politics.

Analysts believe that Jokowi has finally caved in to pressure amid a political onslaught from the coalition of losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, which now controls a majority in the House of Representatives.

University of Indonesia political analyst Hamdi Muluk said that Jokowi had earmarked 16 seats for members of political parties to be in his Cabinet with the objective of luring members of the Red-and-White Coalition, led by Prabowo, into his own coalition.

“Jokowi opening up the slots could serve as an incentive to parties in the opposition camp to join his coalition,” Hamdi said. He added that if Jokowi allocated only a small number seats to politicians, it would not be enough to persuade parties from the rival camp to join.

He said that there were at least three parties that were likely to jump ship to join Jokowi’s coalition: the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Democratic Party.

Vedi R. Hadiz, professor of Asian society and politics at Murdoch University, meanwhile, said that Jokowi’s decision to maintain the number of ministries indicated that he had bowed to pressure from political parties.

“Don’t forget, vice-president elect Jusuf Kalla wanted to be the de facto leader of the Golkar Party, which is why he was angry [with Jokowi’s plan].” (Margareth S. Aritonang and Hans Nicholas Jong)