Taufik Darusman

Taufik Darusman: Divided They Stand

When senior officials from his political base, the Democratic Party, suggested last week that he should reshuffle his cabinet, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono responded by saying he would consider the proposition “in the best possible manner.”

Senior Democrats appear to have had enough with some members of the coalition. Their patience has been tested by the investigation of a House of Representatives special committee into the former PT Bank Century, which was bailed out under debatable circumstances by the government during Yudhoyono’s first term as president. As Democratic Party officials see it, representatives of the Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), who are part of the House special committee and have obviously been taking their cues from their respective party bosses, have shown conduct unbecoming a member of Yudhoyono’s coalition.

The coalition, formed by the president in October, is composed of the Democrats, the National Mandate Party (PAN), the National Awakening Party (PKB), Golkar, PPP and PKS. While the coalition is rather informal, the heads of all the aforementioned parties signed a document, and that is reflected in the lineup of the present cabinet.

The cabinet members have so far shown a cohesiveness rarely seen in previous administrations, when ministers openly bickered among themselves. However, there has been no such sense of unity during the House investigation. As seen during a number of the hearings on the Bank Century bailout, some special committee members who are part of Yudhoyono’s coalition have displayed a total lack of propriety.

Some of them have gone so far as to pursue the case in ways that seem to suggest their ultimate motivation is to bring down the government — the same government they are a part of by virtue of the coalition. In the brief space of three months, Yudhoyono’s coalition has managed to confirm the old belief that in politics you should trust no one, no matter what.

The last three months have also shown that, with a lack of formal rules of engagement, ambitious politicians will pounce on each and every opportunity to forward their personal cause.

Golkar and PPP have insisted that the coalition was meant to create “an Indonesia that is clean and free from corruption,” and that the House investigation serves as a means to attain that objective.

It’s a lofty goal, but the zeal with which the members of the House special committee are pursuing the issue seems to suggest some darker objective.

Yudhoyono’s recent statement on a possible cabinet reshuffle was obviously meant to give some food for thought to those political parties that have shown little commitment to the coalition. By Yudhoyono’s standards, that statement is as close as he gets to being firm.

Last week, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) named former Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah, the head of the PPP’s board of patrons, as a suspect in a corruption case that had gathered dust for two years. At the same time, there is an intensive inquiry into villas reportedly owned by Zarkasih Nur, another PPP official, and Golkar secretary general Idham Marham in the Mount Halimun conservation area in West Java.

Whether or not these are not-so-subtle ways of pressuring parties to toe the coalition line is just speculation. What is certain, however, is that the Democrats feel additional political ammunition is warranted in the way of a threat to reshuffle the cabinet and replace renegade ministers.

It is no secret that cabinet positions benefit political parties, and are a major source of funding for parties. Thus, the possibility of seeing members expelled from the cabinet for not following the coalition line should be enough to make Yudhoyono’s partners shiver.

Pundits lament the fact that Yudhoyono has dragged his feet on reassessing the wisdom of maintaining a coalition of parties with divergent agendas, so much so that the Bank Century inquiry has polarized the country and reportedly kept potential foreign investors at bay.

With loyal members PAN and PKB on his side and the strong support of the majority of the public, Yudhoyono still has a free hand in managing the nation. If the president wants to do the country a favor, he should disband the coalition and reshuffle the cabinet. If the coalition remains in place, Yudhoyono can expect to face these same sorts of problems in the future, which is something the nation cannot afford given the many challenges it faces.

 

Taufik Darusman is a veteran Jakarta-based journalist.

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