KPK Arrests 'Not Extraordinary': Yudhoyono

The Jakarta Globe, Kinanti Pinta Karana

President Yudhoyono arriving in Jakarta on Tuesday after the Asean+3 Summit in Thailand. (Photo: Widodo S. Jusuf, Antara)

There is nothing strange about the arrests of Indonesian anticorruption chiefs Chandra M Hamzah and Bibit Samad Rianto, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday

“It is not an extraordinary thing for a person who is under investigation to be arrested,” he said in a press conference at the State Palace on Friday.

Yudhoyono said the arrest sparked controversy because Chandra and Bibit are Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) officers.

“It has become a controversy because both of them are KPK leaders and many people did not believe that KPK leaders could commit a corruption-related crime, and also the issue of friction between KPK and the police over the last three months,” said Yudhoyono.

Yudhoyono said the arrests were within police authority and were carried out according to the law. He said he had asked the National Police Chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri to explain the arrest during a meeting on Friday morning.

Cartoon - Irma R Damayanti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/30/2009

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RI eyes 7 percent economic growth, with reductions in poverty, unemployment rates

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/29/2009 2:15 PM

Getting advice: Getting advice: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono speaks during the opening of the National Summit in Jakarta on Thursday. JP/R. Berto Wedhatama

Indonesia is targeting an economic growth of 7 percent and to reduce its unemployment and poverty rates by up to 5 and 8 percent respectively by 2014, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Thursday.

Yudhoyono said, as he opened the two-day National Summit, the targeted economic growth was expected to help create jobs and thus reduce the unemployment rate from the current 8 percent to between 5 and 6 percent by 2014.

"And with hard work, we are aiming to cut the poverty rate from the current 14 percent to between 8 and 10 percent [by 2014]," he said, before 14,000 summit participants.

He said that investment was needed so as to enable the economic growth and, in order to reach the 7 percent target, Indonesia required a total investment of about Rp 2,100 trillion (US$219 billion) per year for the next five years.

Financing would be prioritized from the domestic private sector as well as from government spending.

"If that is still not enough then we will partner with our friends from other countries," Yudhoyono said.

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President calls for reform of educational methods

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/29/2009 3:01 PM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has called on national education authorities to reform existing teaching methods and encourage a spirit of entrepreneurship among students.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of a national summit in Jakarta on Thursday, Yudhoyono said students with a spirit of entrepreneurship would be able to support national development in the future.

The President said the main strategy for improvement of the next five-year development program was entrepreneurship, technological innovation and people's empowerment.

He called on the national education minister to reform existing teaching methods and to allow students to play a larger role in the teaching and learning process.

"Creating the spirit of entrepreneurship is not easy, but through various efforts – and one of them is national education reform – it is possible," the President said as quoted by state news agency Antara.

During the summit, private companies and other stakeholders are expected to provide the government with input for the 2010-2014 period.

Vice President Boediono is coordinating the summit and on the final day, Saturday, will provide a report on the conclusions reached, before reporting to the President.

A breath of fresh air for start-ups

Mustaqim Adamrah, THE JAKARTA POST, JAKARTA | Wed, 10/28/2009 1:28 PM

Aiming to help cut red-tape and bureaucracy, the Law and Human Rights Ministry is in the process of adopting a system that would cut the registration period for business start-ups to 14 days at the longest.

Head of the restructuring team at the ministry, Freddy Harris, said Tuesday the new system - developed in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private arm of the World Bank - would effectively reduce the registration process from between 30 to 60 days now, to 14 days or less.

"The new system will be fully effective on Jan. 1, 2010," he said on the sidelines of a workshop on business registration reforms in East Asia and the Pacific organized by the IFC.

He said the system was already "semi-online" at present, with 75 percent of the information "produced by the system, not people".

These efforts, he said, were eventually aimed at improving the business climate in Indonesia.

Under the latest Doing Business Survey jointly conducted by the World Bank and the IFC, Indonesia now ranks as the 122nd most competitive country in terms of ease of doing business, up by seven notches from its ranking last year.

The annual survey, first launched in 2004, involves 183 economies including in East Asia and the Pacific.

In spite of some improvements, Indonesia is still ranked far below Singapore (1st), Thailand (12th), Japan (15th), Malaysia (23rd), Mongolia (60th) and even Ethiopia (107th), but is doing better than Nepal (123rd), Brazil (129th), India (133rd), the Philippines (144th) and Cambodia (145th).

Brigit Helms, IFC Indonesia's head of advisory services, said the ministry could cut red-tape by, first, eliminating the mini-mum capital requirement, and two, and by dispensing with the role of notaries in registering a business as this "can add more time to the process".

"Any top rated countries, like Singapore and New Zealand, don't *have the minimum capital requirement, while* in many other countries, people can go directly to the electronic governance system . and input their information," she said.

"As many as 95 percent of companies in Indonesia are informal. That means they're marginalized, they may be small, they don't have access to credit, they don't pay taxes," she said.

"They'll really contribute as fully as they can so that the economy can grow, if we can make busi-ness registration easier for these informal businesses. The benefits are *potentially* enormous to the economy."

In response to IFC's suggestions, Freddy said the ministry might consider eliminating the present requirement for Rp 50 million (US$5,250) in minimum capital, and would also look at redefining the role of notaries.

Experts Tapped For Key Positions in Indonesia's Ministries

The Jakarta Globe

Among the ministries with a 'revitilization agenda' is the Agriculture Ministry, Yudhoyono said, as it is tasked with achieving self-sufficiency in key commodities. (Photo: Enny Nuraheni, Reuters)

Hua Hin, Thailand. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Sunday he would soon name deputy ministers to at least six important ministries, and prioritize professionals for the posts.

At a news conference here, where he was attending an Asia-Pacific summit, the president said the ministries that required deputy ministers were those tasked with revitalization programs aimed at building stronger governance.

“The next five years have a number of important priorities and agendas for particular ministries that will have to carry out the revitalization programs,” he said.

According to Yudhoyono, at least four ministries had been given revitalization agendas — the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Health.

The Agriculture Ministry, for example, has been tasked with revitalizing strategic commodities to achieve self-sufficiency. The Health Ministry will focus more on public health issues such as insurance.

“These ministries will have a high ‘workload’ … they need to have ‘backup’ to ensure the wheels keep turning,” the president said.

Yudhoyono said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance both required deputy ministers to take charge when the minister was abroad.

“The minister of foreign affairs and the minister of finance spend a lot of time overseas,” he said.

The president said he would prioritize professionals for the deputy ministerial positions, although one or two deputy ministers could be taken from political parties.

“I’ll prioritize professionals who are not affiliated with political parties because they can focus on the job,” he said.

Meanwhile, the president also affirmed that Indonesia would never leave the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

“Indeed, I have heard concerns that if Indonesia has a new club, namely the G-20, then it will no longer make Asean its main house,” he said.

As one of the founders of the regional grouping, the president said, Indonesia would maintain an active role and continue to play an important part in Asean.

During the G-20 meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh in September, Yudhoyono also expressed his desire for the Asean rotating chairman to be invited to future meets.

The three-day conference in Thailand closed on Sunday with the fourth East Asia Summit, where leaders of the 10 Asean member nations met with their counterparts from China , Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand .

On the sidelines of Sunday’s summit, Yudhoyono also met with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who offered a $400 million loan to help tackle global warming.

The loan was part of the “Hatoyama Initiative” unveiled last month, in which Tokyo would provide financial and technical assistance to developing countries to help address climate change.

The three-day summit included the launch of Asean’s first human rights watchdog and talks on the economic integration of the association by 2015, disaster management issues, climate change and military-ruled Burma, an Asean member widely criticized internationally for its human rights record.

Reuters, AP, Antara

Govt preparing national-scale summit

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 10/24/2009 2:38 PM

The new government is making preparations ahead of next week's National Summit, which will involve more than 1,000 stakeholders across the country in the planning of the national development for the next five years.

The summit, to be held on Oct. 29-31, will draw participants comprising governors from the country's 33 provinces, mayors and regents, regional- and central-level legislators, aside of the 34 new Cabinet ministers and other high-rank officials, among others.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Radjasa said in a press conference here Saturday that the summit would also involve non-governmental organizations, commerce and industry chambers, university representatives and observers.

"All the stakeholders are expected to have dynamic discussions over the summit's topics... The government will take all inputs into considerations," Hatta said after a coordination meeting on the summit's preparations led by Vice President Boediono at the Vice Presidential Palace on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan.

"Therefore we hope all parties will feel involved in the making of Indonesia in the next five years, which will hopefully turn better and more prosperous and manage to achieve its targets," he added.

Hatta said the Summit would be opened by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono next Thursday, who would convey his visions of Indonesia in the next five years.

Afterward participants will be divided into three major groups discussing economic matters; political, legal and security affairs; and welfare issues.

Hatta said in the economic field, participants would be divided into six commissions, comprising those discussing infrastructure, food, energy, industrial revitalization, transportation, and small and medium enterprises and service industry.

"For each topic we will raise a number of issues, such as financing in infrastucture development. How's to make people interested in public-private partnership, land acquisitions, etc," he said.

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Djoko Suyanto said his field would be divided into five commissions, i.e. those on regional autonomy, public service and bureaucratic reform, graft combat and prevention, law reform, and fight against terrorism and preventive measures.

"Although the topics have been set out, the commissions' meetings will be opened to other issues emerging at the floor," Djoko said.

Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono said the welfare sector would be also divided into five commissions: poverty, job creation, education, health, and climate change.

"We will invite labor and professional organizations to take part in the discussions of the job creation commission," Agung said.

Similar summit was held in 2004 at the beginning of Yudhoyono's presidency for the 2004-2009 term.

The Saturday's coordination meeting was also attended by State Minister for National Development Planning Armida Alisyahbana and head of the presidential work unit for development monitoring and control (UKP4) Kuntoro Mangkusubroto.

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'Together We Can' is New Cabinet's Theme

The Jakarta Globe

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono introduced the themes he wants the new cabinet to focus on the first cabinet meeting at The State Secretary Office on Friday.

The themes took the form of three taglines. Yudhoyono said the first, “Change and Continuity,” meant new ministers should not hesitate to continue relevant programs that were begun under the old cabinet.

The second tagline encouraged “De-bottlenecking, Acceleration and Enhancement” in the pursuit of development. The president said those goals sprang from an appraisal of his government's first five years.

“By evaluating the first Indonesia United Cabinet, I have identified weaknesses, constraints and unfinished goals because of bottlenecking and clashing regulations. Bottlenecking is the homework for the second Indonesia United Cabinet,”” he said before inaugurating the cabinet on Thursday.

The third tagline is “Unity: Together We Can," echoing the "Yes We Can!" theme used by Barack Obama's presidential campaign last year.

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Kuntoro 'my eyes, my ears and my hands': SBY

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Fri, 10/23/2009 10:50 PM

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held Friday the maiden Cabinet meeting of his second term, consolidating new members and underlining his intent to run a tight ship.

In his two-hour address to the Cabinet, Yudhoyono, accompanied by Vice President Boediono, put a heavy emphasis on the importance of good teamwork to achieve progress and attain the 100-day, one-year and five-year targets, which Presidential Unit for the Management of Programs (UKP3) chairman Kuntoro Mangkusubroto helped draw up.

“The head of the presidential unit will, 24 hours a day and seven days a week, work to make sure that everything, including de-bottlenecking [of hindrances to development], run well,” Yudhoyono said at the opening of the meeting at the State Secretariat.

“He will, if necessary, be my eyes, my ears and my hands ... and I will set for him certain responsibilities that will not overlap with the [three] coordinating ministers.”

Seemingly drawing from past experience, Yudhoyono ordered all the ministers and state officials to set up hotline numbers to allow him to contact them at any given time.

He added he would not make any phone calls if he had nothing important to discuss.

“I hate it the most when I try to call a minister for one or two hours and they don’t answer, respond nor try to find out what I want,” he said.

Indonesian President Warns Cabinet to Stay Loyal

The Jakarta Globe, April Aswadi, October 23, 2009

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Vice President Boediono with the 34 ministers and three state officials sworn in as members of the cabinet at Merdeka Palace. (Antara Photo)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Thursday reminded the new cabinet that he expected all his ministers, whatever their political affiliation, to be loyal to him.

“I remind you, we follow a presidential cabinet system. The president is the captain,” Yudhoyono said. “Your loyalty and lines of responsibility are straight to the president, not to your political party chairman. When it comes to governmental duties, I hope — bear this in mind — that we will work together.”

Addressing the cabinet after swearing them in, Yudhoyono said the interests of the nation must be the ministers’ first priority and come above their own personal or communal interests, and added that their performance would be closely monitored and measured by the public.

Cabinet watchers have said that such a reminder was especially necessary considering that many of the ministers came from political parties, including some that were not initially allies.

Several ministers hold senior executive positions in political parties, including National Awakening Party (PKB) chairman Muhaimin Iskandar, who has the manpower and transmigration portfolio, Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Tifatul Sembiring, who is the communication and information technology minister, and Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who heads the United Development Party (PPP).

“Wherever you come from, whatever political party you are a member of, I hope that you put the interests of the government, nation and state above the interests of political parties, groups and classes,” Yudhoyono said. “Do not invert this .”

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said the president would not prohibit ministers from also holding executive party positions because he believed they should be able to separate their loyalties to their parties and to the government

“He [Yudhoyono] also mentioned that the most important thing [for a minister] is to know where their loyalties should lie, and to work fully for the interests of the nation during their tenure as ministers,” said Rajasa, the former state secretary.

Yudhoyono also asked his ministers to prove their mettle at their new posts. The president said they had signed an integrity pact and a performance contract related to the goals they had to achieve during their tenure before they were officially appointed to their posts.

“I hope that you do what you have already pledged to do,” he said.

The president added that he would conduct annual performance evaluations.

“It’s impossible to change and achieve everything in the next five years,” he said. “But the people will find out whether you have worked hard or not.”

Yudhoyono also called on his ministers not to be swayed by public opinions about the cabinet, and to remain strong and focused on their duties.

“With regards [to opinion], I tell you, don’t fight words with words, but with action,” he said.

On Thursday, Yudhoyono installed 34 ministers, the chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), Sutanto, and the head of the Presidential Working Committee on Monitoring and Controlling National Development, Kuntoro Mangkusubroto.

The new state secretary, Sudi Silalahi, said the head of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Gita Wirjawan, would be installed later, along with the deputy ministers who have yet to be named.

“This is within procedures,” Sudi said. “The president has two weeks to fully decide on the cabinet. It’s still day one. But everything is in process.”

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'Together We Can' is New Cabinet's Theme

Compromise Cabinet 2.0

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/22/2009 11:01

Whose dream team?: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (left) and Vice President Boediono announce the names of the 2009 - 2014 Cabinet members at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday night. (JP/R. Berto Wedhatama)

Revamped and upgraded, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono unveiled his second United Indonesia Cabinet, which he insisted was based on a “rational and objective” selection process.

The much-anticipated announcement late Wednesday night at the State Palace held few surprises.

Most of the 37 names – 34 ministers and three state officials of Cabinet rank – announced were predicted earlier.

Ten ministers from the previous Cabinet were re-named, albeit with different portfolios.

The only major surprise was the selection of Endang Rahayu Sedya-ningsih as health minister, apparently replacing the frontrunner for the job, Nila Juwita Anfasha Moeloek.

The latter, according to media reports earlier in the day, failed her checkup, which was one of the prerequisites set by the President in his screening process.

Nila’s aide told journalists the frontrunner was heartbroken at being passed over, while her house was already receiving premature congratulatory bouquets.

Before a national audience, the President kept up the suspense nonetheless with a near 10-minute defensive spiel on the Cabinet selection.

“There were a lot of people who wanted to meet me. With all due respect, I told them it was best not to meet yet,” Yudhoyono said.

“The system is working,” the President remarked, adding that he and Vice President Boediono had been working diligently over the past 10 days to make the most “rational and objective” selection.

“It was not done recklessly,” he ensured.

In an apparent pre-emptive strike against his critics, Yudhoyono said disapproval of the selection was common, as in previous Cabinet announcements.

“If there are voices [of disapproval] out there, then it's all part of democracy,” he said, while stressing that he had completed the Cabinet selection process in accordance with stipulations in the law requiring a government be formed within 14 days of the presidential inauguration.

In a Cabinet half-filled with politicians, members of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were conspicuously, but not unexpectedly, absent.

PDI-P central board member Effendi Simbolon, said his party was not disappointed.

"We never even thought we would be included, especially looking at the way SBY [Yudhoyono] engaged in political communication with us," he told The Jakarta Post.

"SBY always communicated with us through Hatta Radjasa. So, it was only natural for us to not be too hopeful," he added.

Meanwhile, Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin said the organization “did not ask and was not asked by the President to nominate its figures for the Cabinet”.

“The Cabinet lineup is the President’s prerogative,” he said when asked to respond as to why neither Muhammadiyah nor Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the country’s two biggest Muslims organizations, were notably represented, as they traditionally are.

Din said he had “no problem” with the exclusion but questioned Yudhoyono’s “statesmanship” in failing to involve major Muslim groups, such as Muhammadiyah and NU, in various development projects.

“Yudhoyono should develop a genuine strategic partnership with civil society organizations and stop promoting superficial communications,” Din told the Post.

Separately, Reform Institute executive director Yudi Latif said the announcement confirmed Yudhoyono’s selection was based on political accommodation rather than capability in order to control his political coalition.

"That’s why he gave posts to party members who have a strong political grip on their respective parties, rather than the most capable and professional among them," he told the Post.

"I also believe his goal to have a successful first 100-day program is nonsense. Around 40 percent of the ministers are placed in posts that have nothing to do with their backgrounds. These ministers will surely need time to learn about the issues and problems in their respective posts," he added.

The President in his speech also said he would assign deputies to ministers in several Cabinet portfolios. The appointments would be announced at a later date.

The President also said that for now there would be no change in three other ranking positions in the government: The Attorney General, the Indonesian Military Chief and the National Police Chief.

The United Indonesia Cabinet 2009-2014

Coordinating Ministers

• Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs : Djoko Suyanto
• Coordinating Minister for People’s Welfare : Agung Laksono
• Coordinating Minister for the Economy : M. Hatta Radjasa

Portfolio Ministers

• Home Minister : Gamawan Fauzi
• Foreign Minister : R. M. Marty Muliana Natalegawa
• Defense Minister : Purnomo Yusgiantoro
• Justice and Human Rights Minister : Patrialis Akbar
• Finance Minister : Sri Mulyani
• Energy and Mineral Resources Minister : Darwin Z. Saleh
• Industry Minister :M. S. Hidayat
• Trade Minister : Mari Elka Pangestu
• Agriculture Minister : Suswono
• Forestry Minister : Zulkifli Hasan
• Transportation Minister : Freddy Numberi
• Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister : Fadel Muhammad
• Manpower and Transmigration Minister : Muhaimin Iskandar
• Public Works Minister : Djoko Kirmanto
• Health Minister : Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih
• Education Minister : Mohammad Nuh
• Social Affairs Minister : Salim Segaf Al Jufri
• Religious Affairs Minister : Suryadharma Ali
• Minister of Culture and Tourism : Jero Wacik
• Minister of Communication and Information : Tifatul Sembiring

State Ministers

• State Secretary : Sudi Silalahi
• State Minister Research and Technology : Suharna Surapranata
• State Minister for Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises : Syarifuddin Hasan
• State Minister for the Environment :Gusti M. Hatta
• State Minister for Women’s Empowerment : Linda A. Gumelar
• State Minister for Administrative Reforms : E. E. Mangindaan
• State Minister for Disadvantaged Regions : Ahmad Helmi Faisal Zaini
• State Minister for National Development Planning/National Development Planning Board chairman : Armida Alisjahbana
• State Minister for State Enterprises : Mustafa Abubakar
• State Minister for Youth and Sports Affairs : Andi Mallarangeng
• State Minister for Public Housing : Suharso Manoarfa

State officals

• Head of State Intelligence Agency : Sutanto
• Head of Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) : Gita Irawan Wirjawan
• Presidential Unit for the Management of Reform Programs (UKP3R) : Kuntoro Mangkusub

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Yudhoyono envisions Indonesia's global leadership

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 10/20/2009 11:20 AM

In the spotlight: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, center, deliver a speech after he was sworn in for a second term, Tuesday, in Jakarta. Yudhoyono, the nation's sixth president, is expected to make greater progress against crippling poverty and corruption in his second five-year term. AP/Achmad Ibrahim

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said Tuesday that Indonesia would play a more active role in the international arena, both at the regional and global levels.

Speaking during his inauguration at the People's Consultative Assembly building, President Yudhoyono said that Indonesia would continue its leadership in the current negotiation for a climate deal that would be completed in Copenhagen in December.

Yudhoyono also said that Indonesia would also be more active in pursuing global economic reforms through various international organizations that Indonesia is a part of, especially through the prestigious Group-20.

Indonesia, Yudhoyono said, would also continue to play its leadership role in Southeast Asia through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to create an "ASEAN community."

"We want to create an ASEAN community to make this Southeast Asian region a peaceful, prosperous and dynamic region," he told the plenary session, which was also attended by leaders of neighboring countries.

Australian Prime Minister Minister Kevin Rudd, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah and East Timor Prime President Jose Ramos Horta attended Yudhoyono's inauguration.

Yudhoyono also said that Indonesia would continue to play its role in the United Nations, especially to help the world achieve Millennium Development Goals and create "harmony among civilization."

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Obama to send delegation to attend Yudhoyono's inauguration

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 10/19/2009 11:57 AM

U.S President Barack Obama would send a special delegation to Jakarta to attend the inauguration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday.

Obama's delegation would be led by Lisa P. Jackson, Administrator of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The press statement said that members of the presidential delegation were U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia, Cameron Hume and David N. Merrill, President of the United States-Indonesia Society.

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SBY briefs 16 ministerial candidates

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Cikeas, West Java | Sun, 10/18/2009 10:30 AM

Sri Mulyani Says She Will Be in Indonesian President's Next Cabinet.
(Photo: JG)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono briefed 16 politicians and professionals believed to be part of his next Cabinet lineup at his private residence here on Saturday.

The 16 politicians and professionals who came from the President’s party coalition and his outgoing first Cabinet, showed up one by one to undergo “a fit-and-proper test” directly conducted by the President and vice-president-elect Boediono.

Former chief commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) Marshall (ret.) Djoko Suyanto was the first man who emerged to undergo the formalities and after that came Hatta Radjasa and Agung Laksono.

Based on their own statements to journalists covering the event, Djoko was believed to be been appointed as coordinating minister for political, security and law affairs, Hatta, outgoing minister/state secretary and close aide of Yudhoyono, was expected to be appointed as coordinating minister for the economy while Agung Laksono, deputy chairman of the Golkar Party and former House speaker, was believed to be appointed as coordinating minister for people’s welfare.

None of the three could say clearly that they had been appointed to hold these top positions, saying it was Yudhoyono’s prerogative to pick his ministers and he was scheduled to announce all 34 members of the Cabinet on Oct. 21, a day after his own inauguration for his second term.

However, they gave some hints to journalists.

“They asked me to join the government, especially in the field of people’s welfare,” Agung told journalists after a meeting and the briefing with the President and Boediono.

“They expect me to, among others, coordinate effectively and synergize with other institutions, to improve the government’s performance and rapidly reduce the poverty rate... I’ve declared my readiness to cooperate,” he added, declining to confirm his would-be post in the next Cabinet.

Similarly, Hatta admitted that he was appointed as an economic minister, though he refused to confirm whether he would be the coordinator.

“That’s the President’s role. I can’t tell you what [position], but surely it is in the field of the economy,” he told journalists.

Despite the term “fit-and-proper test” used by the President for the Saturday’s activity at his place, it appeared that no ministerial candidates underwent any sort of formal test.

Djoko said that after the President asked of his readiness to assist in the government, the latter briefed him over the “crucial points” concerning his “heavy tasks” in the five years ahead.

“Lastly, I signed the integrity pact and performance contract, which we as his assistants must adhere to between 2009 and 2014,” Djoko said.

Yudhoyono said earlier that before being entitled to a post in the Cabinet, the ministerial candidates would be required to sign the two documents, which outlined the targets each minister must achieve during their five-year term.

The candidates coming to his residence on Saturday all signed the documents, meaning they will only have to undergo medical check-ups on the following day before being officially named as Cabinet ministers.

The remaining 18 candidates will meet the President on Sunday and undergo medical check-ups on Monday.

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I'll see you again

The Jakarta Post | Sat, 10/17/2009 8:22 PM

I’ll see you again: Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu waves to reporters as she leaves president-elect Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s house in Cikeas, West Java. Yudhoyono summoned Marie on Saturday to offer her another term as a minister. -- JP/Wendra Ajistyatama

Not easy to become ministers: SBY aides

Transportation revitalization awaits Freddy

Another PKS member to helm agriculture ministry

Gorontalo Governor ready to chief maritime affairs, fisheries ministry

Purnomo: From mining to defense

Marty gets fast track to foreign affairs ministerial post

Gita to take care of investment flows

Nila Moeloek interviewed for health minister

Patrialis Akbar interviewed for ministerial post

Agum's wife to hold women empowerment ministerial post

Suharna asked to support economic development with technology

Djoko Kirmanto to retain public works minister post

Hidayat to take industry minister post

Darwin to head capital investment board

Jero Wacik to lead culture and tourism ministry

Muhaimin told to develop regions

Muhammad Nuh entrusted to develop culture

Tifatul assigned to develop information technology

Sutanto, Tifatul turn up for interview

Andi Mallarangeng assigned to develop youth potential

Marie to retain trade minister post

Sri Mulyani to maintain finance minister post

Agung ready to take chief welfare minister job

Hatta to take economics minister post

Sudi offered state secretary post

Coordinating minister candidates arrive for test

Yudhoyono to interview ministerial candidates