Jakarta – Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has said he plans to continue replacing senior government and military officials in an effort to wipe out corruption and strengthen professionalism.
"Oh yes, yes, you can expect that [a continued shake-up of government positions]," Wahid said in an interview Saturday with AFX-ASIA, an AFP financial affiliate, and USA Today, which was released Monday.
Although ruling out a cabinet reshuffle, he said nobody could count themselves immune from the sweep, including senior figures such as former armed forces chief and senior cabinet member General Wiranto, if they are found guilty of wrongdoing.
"This comes from the decision to put [government institutions] under people of clean backgrounds." He said the priorities "are so many" but the armed forces and state enterprises topped the list.
Asked whether he plans to dismiss Wiranto – now Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs – as has been widely rumoured, Wahid said it was difficult to take action on the cases he is allegedly involved in.
The general is among a number of senior army officers being investigated for past human rights abuses including those in East Timor and Aceh.
But the fact Wiranto is being investigated at all shows that no one is above the law, Wahid said. "To be frank with you, it is difficult to take action about the cases that he [Wiranto] was involved in. But ... everybody is dispensable," Wahid said.
He said in the case of the armed forces, the purpose of the shake-up was not to weaken the military as an institution but to strengthen its professionalism.
"We have to differentiate between the military as an institution and the people there," Wahid said. "We will fire the people, if necessary, but not [target] the armed forces as an institution."
Wahid's comments came after he last week ordered the military to replace armed forces spokesman Major General Sudrajat, a Wiranto ally, who had publicly suggested the president was not the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Sudrajat's dismissal came amid speculation in Jakarta of a growing rift between Wahid and Wiranto over the human rights probes. Last week, US ambassador to the United Nations Richard Holbrooke said Washington was deeply concerned over reports the military might be planning to move against Wahid.
The government's placement of non-corrupt professionals at the head of key institutions and state enterprises is part of a strategy to revitalise the economy by rooting out corruption, Wahid said.
"We want to rewrite the rules of the game ... so that we can take advantage of the economic recovery when it comes," Wahid said.
He said the shake-up, which has already seen changes in the managements of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency, the Capital Market Supervisory Board, and the state electricity company could extend to PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia and PT Indonesian Satellite Corp.
"For example, we [will] put clean people in [the state oil company] Pertamina, in Telkom, Indosat, everywhere," Wahid said.
"There will be no cabinet reshuffle," he said, but left open the possibility that ministers could resign "if they are discovered by the court to be involved" in corruption or other wrongdoing.
On the ongoing bloodshed in the Maluku islands, he said retired army officers and fanatical Muslim groups may be among the elite exploiting situation.
But he said he expects the trouble in Maluku, and a separatist conflict in Aceh, northern Sumatra, to be solved within a few months.
"For me the most important thing is that some of them [the troublemakers] come from the retired army officers. Some from the fanatic Islamic groups," Wahid said.
"I see that within several months we will overcome those problems," he said, adding he has been meeting frequently with Aceh community representatives, who tell him they are close to solving the problem.
"In Ambon, the real question is to change several government people. I have already taken steps to ensure that it happens."
Wahid said the wide belief that problems such as in Maluku are at least partly rooted in the elite politics of Jakarta is correct.
"Yes ... they are right. I know it because the reports from Ambon are that local people had no quarrel at all at the beginning. So it was started by people from Jakarta."