Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – As talk of a possible cabinet shake-up continues, there are now calls from the House of Representatives for the president to replace members of his special staff who have failed to produce as expected.
Irgan Chairul Mahfiz, secretary general of the House faction of the United Development Party (PPP) – a member of the ruling coalition – said on Thursday that the presidential staff, like ministers, should be held responsible for the government's performance.
The PPP lawmaker used several recent controversial statements by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to highlight what he said was the need for a more professional team of presidential staff members to keep their boss out of trouble.
He pointed to the controversy the president stirred up when he questioned the direct appointment of the sultan of Yogyakarta as the governor of the province.
"Rather than being embroiled in politics, special staff members should pool their resources and think about relief efforts in disaster areas such as Mentawai, Wasior and Yogyakarta," he said. "Besides evaluating the ministers, I hope the presidential staff is also evaluated."
An official from another coalition party, Golkar, also said the president needed to take a closer look at his staff. Bambang Susatyo, deputy treasurer of Golkar, said his party would urge the president to evaluate his staff, especially those dealing with the eradication of the judicial mafia.
He said the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force had been virtually nonexistent during the controversy swirling around Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, the deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) who have faced what are widely believed to be trumped up criminal charges.
Bambang added that the six-member task force said it had received thousands of complaints from the public about judicial corruption, but appeared to have done nothing in response.
"It confusing to the public. Are they working only for publicity, or actual working on legal enforcement?" he said. "If the task force members are only seeking popularity, then the president should disband the body."
Andi Anshar, from the National Mandate Party (PAN) agreed, saying the government should instead concentrate on supporting the police, the Attorney General's Office and the KPK.
He said the work of presidentially appointed teams like the task force overlapped with law-enforcement bodies, causing confusion. "I think, with the new police chief, the new attorney general and the new KPK chairman appointed, it's time to dismiss the task force," he said.
But Saan Mustofa, deputy secretary general of Yudhoyono's Democratic Party in the House, said the task force and presidential staff members were needed to accelerate work at government bodies, particularly those involved in law enforcement.
"We have not yet asked the task force members to reveal the results of their investigations into the judicial mafia, but that is certainly not a reason to fire them," he said.
Aside from the Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force, the president has at least 10 other special task forces and teams dealing with issues ranging from the environment to regional autonomy.