Jakarta (AsiaNews) – The cabinet reshuffle announced yesterday by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono confirms the commitment of the head of state to weed out corruption, a social scourge in the country. The fight against corruption has been the president’s battle cry since his electoral campaign in 2004. Controversial ministers implicated in illicit affairs are being replaced and the head of the Attorney General, Abdurrahman Saleh, has rolled too. Considered too weak and indecisive, he will be replaced by Hendarman Supandji, a low-profile prosecutor who has just completed his mandate as head of a special anti-corruption task force set up by Susilo himself. In the past, Supandji worked in the Attorney General’s Office, mostly on corruption cases.
His appointment has been welcomed by human rights campaigners and NGOs involved in social work. Political analysts are certain that the new Attorney General will play a key role in guaranteeing the arrest of eight fugitive Indonesians in Singapore who between them have a debt of around three thousand billion rupees with the Bank Indonesia Liquidity Assistance. In early May, Jakarta and Singapore agreed on the extradition of the fugitives and concrete steps are anticipated.
In the reshuffle, the Secretary of State, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, will be replaced by the Transport Minister, Hatta Radjasa; there will be a new Justice and Human Rights Minister too, with Andi Mattallata, currently chairman of the Golkar Party in Parliament, taking over from Hamid Awaluddin. Mahendra and Awaluddin had to step down for conceding the use of a ministerial bank account in the transfer of 10 million dollars to Tommy Soeharto, son of the ex-president Soeharto, from the Paribas Bank of London.
