So, it seems that ministers can still sit comfortably on their chairs until, at the very least, March 2011.
Some ministers have been standing on thin ice and are very likely to be removed from the cabinet if they fail to improve their performance. The most likely to be removed is Information and Communication Minister Tifatul Sembiring.
Tifatul has been stirring controversies after controversies. The man seems do not understand that he is a minister, not just an ordinary citizen, and therefore, if he has any common sense left, he would have been more careful in choosing his words and statements.
Tifatul’s biggest blunders are making comments on something that is not under his authority as an information minister. He sometimes makes comments on law enforcement, health issues and religious affairs, and to make things worse, most of his comments are recklessly improper.
The crème de la crème of Tifatul’s remarks was when he made a bad joke on AIDS. Tifatul said on his twitter page that AIDS stood for “Akibat Itunya Ditaruh Sembarangan” or in English meant: “caused by reckless use of one’s penis”.
Tifatul was then lambasted not only by his followers, but a global scale as well. The issue was quoted by a lot of international news portals and the minister had shown the world that in Indonesia, an ignorant and narrow minded person could become a minister of information. The irony is too damn funny.
Tifatul never made an official apology for the remark on AIDS.
After the brouhaha with the AIDS remark, Tifatul stirred another controversy when he accused Michelle Obama to “force him” to shake hands and that he had no other choice than to hold the United States first lady’s hands in his.
That incident also went global because it showed the hypocrisy on Tifatul’s part. He always depicts himself as a loyal conservative Muslim, who refuses to shake hands with any woman who is not his wife or relative, but with Michelle, it was clear that Tifatul was the one greeted openly her hands and he was not forced at all.
Don’t believe me? Check out this video on how Michelle Obama forced Tifatul to shake hands. I don’t see anyone being forced in there except a big grin from a very pleased man.
Why Tifatul is the most likely to be removed? Because even his own party, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), does not give a damn about him anymore. A high ranking central board official at the PKS told me that Tifatul’s antics have given the party nothing but shame and some of them were ready to propose Kemal Azis Stamboel to replace Tifatul.
The official also said that removing and replacing Tifatul would not give any significant effect within the party.
“He has no grassroots mass,” the official said.
Another minister who is likely to be removed is Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar. To be fair to him, I think the fella has been trying his best to do his job, but Patrialis has always been and will always be a mediocre law technocrat. He was not impressive as a legislator during the 2004-2009 House of Representatives term, and he failed the test to become on of the Constitutional Court judges.
Patrialis also failed to become a House of Regional Representatives (DPD) senator after not gaining enough votes during the 2009 legislative elections. This means that Patrialis had been rejected by the public to be one of their representatives.
Numerous Patrialis’ former colleagues at the House also said that they thought he did not deserve to be named as a human rights minister in the first place due to his firm support towards Syaria law, which allows people to be stoned to death for adultery, in the past. Patrialis appointment, they said, was nothing more than a political decision.
During the 2004-2009 House term, Patrialis was also the National Mandate Party (PAN) faction chairman at the legislative body. PAN was one of the factions which supported the Democratic Party in removing the prosecution authority of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) during the deliberation of the Corruption Court Bill.
The bill was then passed into law, and the KPK’s prosecution authority was maintained, however, some of the clauses in the bill still pose danger for corruption-fighting efforts in the future. These dangerous clauses will be discussed later.
Patrialis’ possible replacement remains unclear, but rumors said that it could be someone from the Democratic Party, because this party is very likely to remove one of its ministers from the cabinet, and that minister is said to be the Energy and Mineral Resources Darwin Saleh.
Darwin, according to some insiders, is deemed by the Democratic Party elite to be “uncooperative in supporting the party”. Darwin’s possible replacement is said to be Hatta Radjasa, the current coordinating minister for the economics and one of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s closest aides. Hatta, on the other hand, is said to be replaced by Dipo Alam, the current cabinet secretary.
Another Democratic Party member who is likely to be ousted is Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi. Freddy is said to have not been able to see eye-to-eye with his deputy, Bambang Susantono, who is regarded as a possible replacement for Freddy.
Some of the directorate generals within the Transportation Ministry are also said to have a little bit of “discontent” with Freddy. Most of these directorate generals have been at the ministry since Hatta’s era, and they are currently displeased with Freddy’s policies to slowly putting his men replacing Hatta’s men.
State-owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar is another minister whose job is on the line if he makes even the slightest wrong move in the future. Mustafa's naivety in handling the politics within his ministry is the main cause for the latest havoc during the Krakatau Steel initial public offering (IPO), according to numerous officials in his ministry.
Mustafa, however, is said to have the backing of a group of politicians closely linked to Yudhoyono. So, he just need s to be good with them and he will be fine. But if he ever to be replaced, Indonesian Investment Coordinating Board chairman Gita Wirjawan is said to be the potential replacement candidate.
More details on Mustafa and the Krakatau Steel fiasco can be read here.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa could also be ousted from the cabinet. Marty is said to have an "attitude problem", regardless of his proficiency as a diplomat. According to numerous sources from the foreign affairs ministry, Marty is only serving as an interim foreign affairs minister. Yudhoyono, they said, actually wanted to put Dinno Patti Djalal to become the foreign affairs minister, but he was too young.
So, Dinno was sent abroad to serve as an ambassador at the United States and within a year, he would return to replace Marty, the sources said. The sources also said that the United States itself preferred Dinno to become Indonesia's foreign affairs minister because Marty was too "European".
If there is another minister deserves to be replaced, I say it should be Muhaimin Iskandar, the manpower and transmigration minister. Muhaimin's ministry has been abysmal in taking care of Indonesian's workers, both abroad and within the country.
So, those are the rumors surrounding possible reshuflle, which probably will take a couple of months to materialize. If you like to probe into politics, you'll probably find these rumors to be out-dated and old, but I write these for those who have yet to know much about the Indonesian political back-scene.
The sources are anonymous for security and safety reasons, and things could always change in the next few weeks, and the whole scenario could alter very differently in the end.
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