Erwida Maulia, Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made it clear on Thursday night that while some posts in the next Cabinet would be filled by political party figures, others would not.

Among positions unavailable for party figures, Yudhoyono said, are the defense minister, heads of state enterprises, the attorney general and the head of the State Intelligence Agency.

"This is to prevent conflicts of interest; there are some positions I think would be better filled by non-party figures so as to avoid suspicion," the President said after a fast-breaking dinner with journalists at the Presidential Palace.

"This or that person maybe a good, honest figure, and (eligible) to manage resources. But, because he comes from a political party, suspicions are raised that he will use his position to benefit his party. That is what I want to avoid."

Yudhoyono added that, nevertheless, with the country adopting a multiparty system aside from its presidential system, the Cabinet he will lead for the next five-year period would be a combination of party representatives and professionals with no party background.

Earlier, he said party representatives would come from members of the coalition his Democratic Party (PD) established with other parties before the July 8 presidential election, which gave Yudhoyono and his running mate Boediono a landslide victory.

The coalition consisted of the Democratic Party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the National Awakening Party (PKB). The PKS, winning seven percent of the total vote in the legislative election, has expressed their optimism that the President would give party members more seats in the Cabinet.

Apparently for fear of being surrounded by green parties, Yudhoyono has invited the Golkar Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) to join to form a strong government in the next five years.

Yudhoyono said his next assistants – either Cabinet ministers or heads of state agencies – must agree with the 100-day programs, the five-year action plan, the integrity pact, the performance contract and coalition's rules of play (for partisan figures) that he was completing with Boediono.

"I have completed the draft for the integrity pact and performance contract between me and those I will pick (for the Cabinet). I have time lines and goals that each department and ministry must achieve; some are quantitative and others are qualitative goals. The ministers will have valid references (for their job)," Yudhoyono said.

He said those offered positions in the Cabinet must agree with the terms before they could assume the posts.

Yudhoyono said he would rearrange the structure of the Cabinet for the next five-year term, as his first term had given him a better understanding of which Cabinet functions ran well and which overlapped and caused budgetary inefficiency. "In some cases, it is not clear who is responsible for what and, in others, things are not streamlined. Job descriptions and departmental responsibilities must be clearly defined.

"I want a more effective Cabinet and a higher success rate," the President said.