Nevertheless he has introduced many new especially Islamic faces, removed some of the more nepotistic Suharto appointments, and retained some talented figures from the previous cabinet.
The two main competing agendas - conflicting to some extent - are domestic political reform, and economic reform to satisfy the IMF and international markets. On both fronts Habibie should make some gains over Suharto, though on neither will the moves be enough to satisfy those demanding big changes.
On domestic reform he has moved some way towards popular demands. The two most obvious cronies are gone - Suharto's daughter Tutut and his wealthy golfing partner Bob Hasan.
Most of the new faces are drawn from the broadly Islamic wing of urban middle class civil society. This will win the cabinet support there. Indeed this list may have been the one that Habibie was pushing for when Suharto was lining up his March cabinet. At that time Habibie lost out to the influence of Suharto's daughter Tutut. In that sense this cabinet is a factional bureaucratic one, rather than a broad-based and popular reform cabinet.
For the first time in a New Order cabinet there are representatives from the non-Golkar minority parties PPP (2) and PDI (1).
New faces closely associated with the Islamic group ICMI include:
More broadly Islamic are:
The only attempt at embracing secular nationalist opinion is clumsy. Panangian Siregar (Environment) is a PDI parliamentarian, but not Megawati's PDI, and therefore will not be popular. He is the subject of a Megawati lawsuit now running in the courts.
The secular wing of the opposition is poorly represented. Emil Salim would have been the perfect choice there but he is missing. This will certainly fail to satisfy that wing of the opposition, although a lot will depend on their determination from here on to redefine their agenda after Suharto stepped down.
There is a stronger military presence than before. Five serving officers are there, one more than before, including the politically sensitive posts of Interior and Information. This makes the cabinet look almost like a military-Islamic alliance. Besides Feisal Tanjung, Wiranto, and Hendropriyono retained from the previous cabinet, two new faces are:
The five key domestic positions are the Interior Minister, Information, Religion, Justice, and Education. Three are filled by conservative or hardline figures out of touch with popular demands for reform.
The Religion post (Malik Fajar) and Justice (Muladi) are popular appointments and will boost support for Habibie if they can follow through their energetic reform agendas.
On economic reform the cabinet looks a little better. Bambang Subianto replaces Fuad Bawazier as Finance Minister. While both were Finance Department officials, Bawazier was seen as personally close to Suharto's business interests. Subianto was in charge of bank restructuring until Suharto sacked him last March even though he was doing a good job at the time. His appointment to this key position will be welcomed by the international financial community.
Retaining Ginanjar in the role of Coordinating Minister for Finance and Economy will also fall in good soil with the IMF. Ginanjar understands the global economic environment yet is keenly aware of the national interest. He has played an increasingly crucial role in recent months and should be watched as a potential presidential candidate if Habibie does not hold his own.
Among the minor or technical posts, new faces include:
Retained are all four Coordinating Ministers (Gen Feisal
Tanjung as Coord Min Security & Politics, Ginanjar Kartasasmita
as Coord Min Fin & Ec, Hartarto for Development, and Haryono for
Health). Ali Alatas stays in Foreign Affairs and will bring
stability there. Gen Wiranto stays as armed forces commander and
as Defence Minister. Prof Muladi, a keen reformer, stays as
Justice Minister. Rachmadi stays in Works. Giri Suseno, a Habibie
man and respected engineer, stays on in Transport. Hendropriyono
(military) stays as Transmigration. Farid Muluk stays as Health
(Emil Salim supporter). Tutty Alawiyah stays for Women
(respected, Islamic). Rahardi Ramelan takes on Trade & Industry
(Habibie man, formerly Research & Technology). Kuntoro stays as
Mines & Energy (Ginanjar man).
Gerry van Klinken, editor, 'Inside
Indonesia' magazine.
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