Adisti Sukma Sawitri and Tony Hotland, Jakarta – Calls for the President to replace incompetent ministers in his cabinet rose over the weekend after he announced that a reshuffle would occur in May.
Political communications analyst Effendi Gazali said President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would likely have a minor shake-up in his Cabinet and replace ministers with representatives of certain parties.
"I don't think it will be a radical reshuffle because he's the kind of person who makes a decision with much consideration," he was quoted as saying by detik.com news portal.
Effendi said the public was expecting quality ministers, showing that little thought should be given to bowing to pressure from political parties that wish to be represented in the executive branch. "It's always about using professional people, although it doesn't mean they shouldn't be a member of a party," he said.
The selection of ministers is a right of the President, although political pressure is a major factor because Yudhoyono's Democratic Party has only a few seats in the House of Representatives.
A reshuffle has been called for by politicians and analysts who believe the current cabinet line up has failed to make much progress. Some of the ministers are also entangled in legal scandals and others are ill.
Chairman of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) Tifatul Sembiring said his party would leave any decisions to reshuffle the cabinet to the President himself.
However he suggested ministers in the economic posts, such as Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, be removed for their failure to bring down the poverty rate.
"The country's main problems are poverty and unemployment. I have yet to see any good policies that could deal with these problems," Tifatul said on the sidelines of a PKS gathering in Jakarta on Sunday.
Sharing Effendi's views, Tifatul called for an objective review of the ministers' performances rather than simply replacing them on the basis of political requests by major parties.
The Golkar Party, the country's largest party, which is chaired by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, is reported to have submitted a number of names for cabinet seats. "If (the reshuffle) is carried out only to bow to the requests of parties, it wouldn't do any good to his administration in the future," he said.
Meanwhile, President Yudhoyono has shrugged off accusations he is bowing down to political demands or is afraid of making a critical decision.
At a gathering at a Jakarta mosque, Yudhoyono said Sunday he could not afford to act hastily in making key decisions such as a cabinet reshuffle as it would affect the country's direction in the future.
"I'm afraid, I'll admit that. But I'm afraid of God, breaching the Constitution and making unjust decisions," he said, as quoted by detik.com. Yudhoyono also reiterated his determination to improve the people's welfare and law enforcement.