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By far the biggest controversy surrounding Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony for a number of new deputy ministers was not the debate about a bloated cabinet, nor was it the fact that two of the planned five ministers weren’t even sworn in.

That dubious honor was reserved for the new deputy defense minister, Lt. Gen. Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, an active member of the military who is a central figure in two of the nation’s darkest moments.

Usman Hamid, the coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), was quick to criticize the appointment, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono should not have named a person who was still on active duty to the post.

He said that according to the 2004 Military Law, active soldiers could only occupy civilian positions that were nonpolitical.

“This move could tarnish Indonesia’s human rights reputation in the world forum,” Usman said.

Sjafrie, a key general during Suharto’s rule, has been implicated in the deadly violence surrounding the anti-Suharto protests in May 1998. There were also allegations of his involvement in the formation of pro-Jakarta militia groups in East Timor surrounding the former Indonesian province’s vote for independence in 1999. He has denied involvement in an attack on the Dili residence of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.

Junaidi Simun, a researcher for Imparsial, another leading human rights group, said the allegations still hung over Sjafrie, and that this had resulted in the United States rejecting the controversial general’s visa application to accompany Yudhoyono to the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh in November.

After his inauguration at the Presidential Palace, Sjafrie brushed off the visa issue, saying his new position would help him to open lines of communication with other countries, including the United States.

“As a citizen, as a state official, as a soldier, I feel that the visa refusal will not hamper me in my ability to carry out my main duties,” he said.

Asked about the objections to his selection raised by Kontras and Imparsial, Sjafrie answered vaguely that it would help him “concentrate” and “introspect” in performing his main tasks.

Also sworn in on Wednesday were Lukita Dinarsyah Tuwo as deputy minister of national development planning and Fasli Jalal as deputy minister of national education, along with new Cabinet Secretary Dipo Alam.

However, the expected inauguration of two other officials — Anggito Abimanyu as deputy finance minister and Fahmi Idris as deputy health minister — was unexpectedly canceled.

State Secretary Sudi Silalahi said the appointments had been delayed because the State Secretariat had only just received the two candidates’ curricula vitae and that these needed to be studied to see if they met the desired requirements.

It was not immediately clear why authorities had not first vetted the candidates’ resumes before announcing that they would be appointed deputy ministers.

Andrinof Chaniago, a political analyst from the University of Indonesia, said the “fat” cabinet would increase the burden on the people. “Instead of improving the government’s performance, it might not be efficient and effective, and [might be] against what we actually need.”



Additional reporting by Antara