Rendi A. Witular and Nani Afrida, Jakarta – Outgoing Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Minister Fadel Muhammad was apparently a persona non grata when he made an unscheduled visit to the State Palace to consult with President Susilo Bambag Yudhoyono on Tuesday.
Soldiers from the Presidential Security Force could not stop Fadel as he marched into to the President's sanctum. State Secretary Sudi Silalahi was called in to confront the minister before he proceeded further.
Fadel left the Palace after talking with Sudi, telling reporters he wanted to see the President to prepare for an upcoming meeting with Malaysia over border issues.
"The President refused to meet Fadel because he was busy preparing for the reshuffle," Presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said, denying Fadel wanted to protest Yudhoyono's decision to fire him.
The impromptu visit was the latest part of the drama that unfolded after Yudhoyono announced his new Cabinet lineup on late Tuesday.
Fadel, who was replaced by fellow Golkar Party politician Sharief Cicip Sutardjo, was among the collateral damage in behind-the-scenes skirmishes fought by Yudhoyono and his political partners.
While Yudhoyono's announcement ended weeks of speculation, it remained unclear who had been advising the President as he determined his new Cabinet lineup.
According to sources in Golkar and the Democratic Party, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono; Coordinating Economic Minister Hatta Rajasa, whose daughter will marry Yudhoyono's son next month; Youth and Sports Minister Andi Mallarangeng; Golkar Party chairman Aburizal "Ical" Bakrie and tycoon Chairul Tandjung were among those counseling the President.
One source who declined to be named said pressure from Ani, Andi and other Democratic Party politicians encouraged Yudhoyono to give Democratic Party politicians and his close aides strategic Cabinet posts and to oust ministers with marital problems, including Democratic Party politician Freddy Numberi, who was ousted as transportation minister, and United Development Politician Suharso Monoarfa, who resigned as public housing minister before the reshuffle was announced.
Among the Cabinet posts handling strategic policies and huge projects are the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry, Transportation Ministry, State-Owned Enterprises Ministry, Trade Ministry and the Law and Human Rights Ministry.
"Some of them are basically being put there to raise sufficient resources to fight in the 2014 election," said a businessman familiar with the reshuffle who declined to be named.
Meanwhile, Ical wanted to oust Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo from the Cabinet following a string of disputes between Golkar politicians, who previously contributed to the firing of Agus' predecessor, Sri Mulyani Indrawati. Agus, escaped the cutting block after Vice President Boediono defended the minister.
Ical's touch may have also apparent in Fadel's firing, which been reportedly was triggered by Golkar infighting. Fadel lagged behind other Golkar ministers in raising support from party officials at the grassroots level. Aburizal, whose party is the second-largest in Yudhoyono's coalition, has repeatedly denied the issue.
Also noteworthy contributor was Chairul Tandjung, who according to sources worked to build bridges between Yudhoyono and the Islamic-based Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).
Chairul reportedly touted his good friend Dahlan Iskan, president director of state power company PT PLN, to be the next state-owned enterprises minister.
Chairul's negotiations prevented PKS leaders from retaliating when Yudhoyono proposed that the party's representation in the Cabinet be reduced to two ministers.
The PKS is fortunate that it only lost one of its four Cabinet seats. Research and Technology Minister Suharna Surapranata was replaced by Balthasar Kambuaya, a non-political appointee who will represent Papua.
However the story of the PKS had yet to play out on Tuesday, as party leaders met in Lembang, West Java, to determine their stance after losing Suharna.
The PKS leaders are expected to decide whether to accept losing a seat in the Cabinet and remaining with the coalition or to leave Yudhoyono and pull its three remaining representatives from the Cabinet.
"Yudhoyono's decision to cut our share was made unilaterally, without prior consultation with our patron [Hilmi Aminuddin]. We will decide our stance sooner rather than later," PKS deputy secretary-general Mahfudz Siddik said.