Tomi Soetjipto, Jakarta – Indonesia's new president announced her long-awaited cabinet on Thursday, winning immediate praise for her choice of a team to pull the country out of years of crisis.
Looking relaxed and confident in the presidential palace that was her childhood home, Megawati Sukarnoputri picked a mostly professional team, although she also handed a number of posts to major political parties and potential foes. "The economics team is a good choice," Budi Hikmat, an economist with Bahan Securities, told Reuters.
Chief economics minister is outgoing ambassador to Washington and respected economist Dorodjatun Kuntoro-Jakti, with former national economic planning chief Boediono as finance minister.
"Dorodjatun and Boediono are the best combination," said prominent economist Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Dorodjatun has broad economic skills and is a good coordinator and Boediono is a good scholar and bureaucrat with high integrity. I give Megawati two thumbs up for these choices." While Megawati handed some posts to key political parties, many of the top positions went to technocrats, a signal Indonesia may at last have a cabinet chosen more for its skills than its political affiliations.
She picked widely respected ex-general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as chief political and security minister, a job he was sacked from near the end of the previous government. It is one of the most important posts as the world's fourth most populous nation struggles to quell separatist rebellions and communal violence that has killed thousands in recent years.
The leaders of the parliament and the top assembly, whose support is crucial to Megawati serving out her term to 2004, welcomed her team, which includes members of their own parties. "We support this cabinet. Overall, I give it good marks, 8.2 [out of 10]," top assembly chief Amien Rais told reporters.
Parliament speaker Akbar Tandjung, whose Golkar is the largest party after Megawati's own, said the team would have strong backing from the House, frequently a thorn in the side of her dumped predecessor.
The former vice-president and daughter of founding president Sukarno came to power nearly three weeks ago when the top legislative assembly sacked Abdurrahman Wahid for incompetence after just 21 months in office.
Call for unity
In her opening remarks, she immediately called on the country's fractious politicians to unite in helping the country recover from four years of economic and political mayhem which has dragged millions back into a life of poverty and violence.
"I realise how difficult the tasks and the responsibilities of the new cabinet will be. I'm looking for support from all groups," said Megawati, dressed in a blue-grey suit of a style popular among bureaucrats.
The cabinet also included several old faces, but she postponed naming the vital post of attorney-general – whose job will be to try to sort through Indonesia's almost impenetrable legal tangle which is frightening away investors.
Key Megawati aides Kwik Gian Gie and Laksamana Sukardi – both dumped by Wahid – were brought back to the cabinet. Kwik, an ethnic-Chinese businessman and economic commentator, was handed national planning while former Citibank executive Sukardi was put in charge of state firms, whose vital privatisation has been repeatedly delayed.
The economic team will need to move quickly to get the economy back on track and regain the support of the International Monetary Fund, which has stopped new loans since late last year because of concerns over lagging reforms.
Yudhoyono likely a popular choice
Megawati has made a popular choice in Yudhoyono, who earned widespread respect during his first time in the job.
One of the few surprises was the defence minister, handed to Matori Abdul Djalil, a civilian and former head of Wahid's party. Djalil turned against Wahid in the final days of his presidency and was sacked from the party post.
"This is indeed a surprise. It's good because he's a civilian ... but he has very weak knowledge of defence strategy and has no strong network in the military," Riefqi Muna, defence analyst at the Indonesian Science Institute, said.
The frail rupiah and Jakarta stocks have been energised by Megawati's rise to power and the sacking of her erratic predecessor. Analysts said a well chosen cabinet would be critical to maintain that momentum. Both markets dipped immediately after her announcement.
The cabinet line-up was the first big test of Megawati's leadership abilities and shows something of the influence she has over the disparate parties that swept her to power on July 23.
"Obviously, Megawati was able to show she is the one who calls the shots and steered away from the inner circle – previously the biggest concern of the market," said Lin Che Wei, head of research at SG Securities.