Next Cabinet: Based on Expertise or Politics?

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (third left) receives two sons of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2014), Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (fourth right) and Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono (second right) at Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Wednesday (5/6/2019) afternoon. In the meeting, Agus and Edhie were accompanied by their respective wives, Anissa Pohan and Aliya Rajasa. President Jokowi was accompanied by First Lady Iriana (far left) and their youngest son Kaesang Pangarep (second left). This get-together, according to Agus, marked the friendly relationship between the Yudhoyono family and the Jokowi family, which had to be maintained.

If the case submitted by Prabowo Subianto-Sandiaga Uno\'s legal team over the presidential election result is dismissed by the Constitutional Court, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo will be reinstated as the President of the Republic of Indonesia for a second term (2019-2024) on Oct. 20, 2019.

One of the moments awaited by the public is the formation of Jokowi\'s new cabinet. Will it lean toward an expert cabinet or a cabinet in response to political contributions? The issue of cabinet formation almost always attracts the attention of the public in general, business circles, political parties and, of course, news hunters who are looking for the sensation and controversy behind every political event. The appeal of the issue is based on the hope that the ministers will finally implement the vision and direction of Joko Widodo and Ma\'ruf Amin in the next five years.

If the ministers fail to understand and realize Jokowi-Amin\'s vision and political direction through the relevant technical ministry policies, the president can be considered to be unsuccessful. Jokowi\'s choice of state ministers, who will help during the second period of his administration, will greatly determine the capacity and quality of the cabinet\'s performance.

Past experience shows that presidents-elect base their decisions for finding assistants on several criteria. First, qualifications related to expertise, competence and capability of the minister candidates almost invariably are one of the main criteria. The second criterion is the candidates’ moral integrity and track record, namely whether they are truly clean from corruption and not subject to legal charges. The third criterion is the candidates’ political representation, namely whether they come from the political parties of the supporting coalition and supporters of the elected presidential and vice-presidential candidates or those who have a political and social basis beyond that.

However, perhaps the determining factor is none of those three criteria mentioned, but three other factors. First, whether the minister candidates are persons who are firm and have the courage to make decisions. When meeting executives of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), according to Jokowi, a minister must be able to execute the program planned by the government. Second, the chemistry the candidates have with the president-elect. This is certainly personal, so only Jokowi can measure it individually. Third, whether the candidates have the capacity to work in teams that are cross-sectoral and are accustomed to being under pressure, especially when the government has to pursue set targets.

“Zaken” cabinet

However, all of them depend on the format of the cabinet that President Jokowi wants to compile. Related to this, the steering board of the Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP) proposed that the President form a zaken cabinet, or expert cabinet, in the second period of his presidency. As once disclosed to media by BPIP member Buya Syafii Maarif, the zaken cabinet contains experts in their fields whose proposals may come from political parties. According to Buya, an expert cabinet is needed to improve the cabinet performance, which has not been optimal in the Working Cabinet I (2014-2019) period. A similar point was made by Saut Situmorang, one of the deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), some time later.

A cabinet based more on expertise than politics is considered ideal, because such a cabinet could avoid potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, the ministers can focus on translating and implementing the elected president\'s vision and political direction into public policies without being disturbed by conflicting party interests. However, is that really true?

DIDIE SW

.

In our nation\'s history, an expert cabinet was put together by Ir H Djuanda (1957-1959), but it only lasted a moment, because President Sukarno as the decision-maker of the cabinet formation finally ordered the reenactment of the 1945 Constitution. The Djuanda Cabinet, which was formed on the basis of the Provisional Constitution, was dissolved. Later on, in the New Order era, the cabinet formed by Soeharto was generally more of an expert cabinet than a political one. At least this was reflected in the involvement of economists and financial experts graduating from the University of California at Berkeley -- nicknamed the "Berkeley Mafia" -- who became state ministers and the backbone of the New Order economic growth era. For about three decades, the economists-technocrats led by Prof. Widjojo Nitisastro became the backbone of economic growth, even though in the end the New Order collapsed in 1998.

During the ensuing Reform Era, the short-lived Development Reform Cabinet of BJ Habibie (1998-1999) was filled with experts and professionals as state ministers. However, since the National Unity Cabinet led by Abdurrahman Wahid (1999-2001), then the Mutual Cooperation Cabinet by Megawati Soekarnoputri (2001-2004), the United Indonesia Cabinet by Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (2004-2014), and Jokowi’s first-term Working Cabinet (2014- 2019), politicians of the political parties supporting the president have increasingly filled ministerial positions.

Cabinets of politics

In addition to the potential for conflict and clash of interests of the parties, ministerial positions occupied by politicians often become sources of "unclean" funds or some kind of ATM for the parties. In its turn, this has the potential to institutionalize acts of bribery, corruption and abuse of power by state administrators, as is still prevalent today. Concerns like this are quite reasonable, because some party leaders who served as ministers were eventually "treated" by the KPK to lengthy stays at the prodeo hotels (penitentiaries).

Nevertheless, it is hard to dispute the fact that more than a few politicians who have expertise and competency in certain fields remain professional and maintain their integrity when trusted as state ministers. They are usually professionals and experts in their fields who join political parties, either of their own initiative or after being invited by parties to improve their resources. For example, several of the economists and technocrats in the New Order era were Golkar administrators, known to have the expertise and competence needed in the technical ministries they led.

Therefore, there is no problem if party politicians become ministers, as long as the placement is proportional. Problem arise when politicians who do not have the capacity, expertise or competence are forced to lead ministries that need technical expertise. Whatever it is, a minister must understand the portfolio of ministries and the scope of its duties and responsibilities, so as not to become a mere political representative for his party.

Will Jokowi form a Cabinet of expertise or politics? Maybe neither. First, it is important to underline that the notions of an expert cabinet and a political cabinet are not entirely dichotomous. As mentioned above, it is possible that there will be an expert with a political background, or a politician who, before entering the party, gained expertise as a professional in a particular field. Second, President Jokowi, I think, does not have enough courage to form a cabinet solely based on expertise and ignore the pressure to include representatives of the coalition of parties that supported his reelection.

Moreover, as Jokowi frequently admitted, “I am not the general chairman (party)." Indirectly, Jokowi wanted to say that as a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) must be loyal to the will of the party, in this case PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri.

Third, it is hard to dispute the fact that the political support from political parties of the coalition supporting the Jokowi-Amin camp comes at a price. There is no free lunch in politics. That means, the political parties that were sweating to support Jokowi in winning back the presidency certainly hope there will be political rewards for their loyalty. National Awakening Party chairman Muhaimin Iskandar even expressed hope that his party could get 10 ministerial positions in Jokowi’s second cabinet. That hope is certainly legitimate, but, in my opinion, it is not ethical to express it publicly, because those who have "merit" for helping Jokowi win are not solely political parties but also the voters, who gave the former governor of Jakarta a new political mandate.

Reconciliation cabinet?

Jokowi\'s biggest challenge in forming a new cabinet is how to manage public expectations for the establishment of an expert cabinet on the one hand and fulfill the aspirations and lust of political parties for a cabinet posts on the other. As a choice that is not dichotomous, Jokowi will need to create it intelligently and wisely to minimize the risk of disappointing parties that have lent their support.

Another problem for Jokowi is the fact that so many parties feel they were sweating behind the re-election of the former mayor of Solo. There are also campaign teams outside of political parties. Moreover, there are layers and a variety of volunteers, both those who were truly voluntary and those who had own interests in obtaining a piece of the cake of power. Not to mention the personal support from a number of public figures and financial and logistical support from various parties that might have similar interests.

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

Syamsuddin Haris

In recent political developments, there is also a discourse about a cabinet of reconciliation, namely one that is not solely based on Jokowi\'s supporting parties, but also Prabowo\'s. A series of get-togethers of Jokowi with Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono (AHY) and the meeting between AHY with his brother Eddy Baskoro Yudhoyono and Megawati\'s family during Idul Fitri can be read as a signal of the eldest son of Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono entering the Jokowi cabinet.

Whether it will be an expert cabinet, a political cabinet or a reconciliation cabinet very much depends on Jokowi himself as well as on whether Jokowi wants to be known as a soft and compromising president or wants to leave a legacy so that he is remembered as a president who truly cares about the hope and fate of the people. The key question is to what extent Jokowi has the courage and the guts to put the interests of the nation above the interests of parties, groups and alliances.

Syamsuddin Haris, Research Professor of LIPI