Derwin Pereira, Jakarta – President Megawati Sukarnoputri has come under fire for appointing her businessman husband Taufik Kiemas as head of a ministerial visit to China earlier this month.
Her advisers and party members fear her opponents will exploit this and other political shenanigans of Mr Taufik to dent her image.
Mr Taufik's trip to China drew flak from Golkar and Muslim legislators who attacked the President for practising nepotism. "When she took over power, she told the nation she would eradicate such practices, but now she is doing exactly that," said a senior member of the Golkar party, which is itself allegedly involved in a damning financial scandal.
Mr Taufik is described by opponents as the "third most powerful politician in Indonesia" after the President and her deputy. The Straits Times understands that even Cabinet members – especially the economic ministers – are uncomfortable with Mr Taufik's influence on state economic matters.
Economic czar Dorodjatun Kuntoro-Jakti had recommended initially that Vice-President Hamzah Haz head the delegation. But to his surprise, Ms Megawati sent her husband, who some believe might have pressured the 54-year-old leader to do his bidding.
Palace aides disclosed that the incident had ruffled feathers for a while between husband and wife. Said a source: "Ibu Mega is conscious that by giving her husband special privileges, people will accuse her of being corrupt like Suharto. But she is his wife. How can she turn him down when he makes a request?" Mr Taufik's critics charge that over the past five months, he has actively intervened in policy matters. For example, he is known to have stepped in at the last minute to advise his wife not to travel to Irian Jaya despite recommendations from police, the military and intelligence agencies that it was safe to go.
His hand was also seen in the appointment of the new police chief, General Dai Bachtiar.
Within the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), he worked hard to eradicate opponents such as Mr Arifin Panigoro who did not agree with him on several issues.
Now he is working behind the scenes to take away the Cabinet Secretary's post from Mr Bambang Kesowo who, sources said, is accused by Mr Taufik of "putting up obstacles" to his trip to China.
Mr Taufik is known to favour loyalist and PDI-P cadre Tjahyo Kumolo for the Cabinet Secretary's position.
Mr Tjahyo insisted yesterday that Mr Taufik did not dabble in politics and that his trip to China was made at the request of the government. "There is no personal interest here," he stressed. "He had to follow the government ... Taufik has never intervened in his wife's work or in the party."
Mr Taufik's detractors, however, disagreed and pointed out that the China trip was merely the first time that he had displayed his political ambitions so openly.