Unfussed Megawati won't rush to name cabinet

Observers fear Megawati's new cabinet will be stocked full of officials from various parties, all with their own agendas

By CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief Maria A. Ressa

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri is not rushing to announce the line-up of her cabinet.

Unlike her predecessors BJ Habibie and Abdurrahman Wahid, this government wants to do it right the first time to avoid further cabinet reshuffles which characterized the government of Wahid, according to Vice President Hamzah Haz

"The habit of frequently changing members of the Cabinet should not be continued," said Haz after his appointment to the nation's second highest post.

Nearly a week later than expected, none of Megawati's aides could say exactly when she planned to announce her new government. The closest guess: "Perhaps Friday."

Megawati is saying little. She spent Wednesday meeting with party leaders working to reach that all-important "consensus". That, much like Suharto's government, will characterize this president's term in office.

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The difference between Suharto and Megawati is that this time an unwieldy coalition brought the president to power - each party with vested political interests that Megawati must now fulfill.

This is a very different Indonesia than the one Suharto ruled.

For one, the People's Consultative Assembly, Indonesia's top legislative body, has tasted real power.

Under Suharto, it was basically a rubber-stamp body. No longer. On July 23, the Assembly fired President Wahid and swore in his Vice President Megawati as his replacement.

Fresh from that victory, legislators and party leaders want to make sure they have a larger say in government. The way to do that is to have their members appointed to cabinet posts.

Part of the reason the process of selection has taken longer than expected is because of intense negotiations and bargaining between political parties as each works to get a bigger piece of the power pie.

Cabinet might grow

Insiders say they expect the number of cabinet posts to increase as Megawati works to meet the demands of different political parties. The cabinet can grow from the present 26 ministers to as many as 35 ministers.

Among the main parties expected to be represented are Megawati's PDI-P, the Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle, which holds the largest number of seats in the legislature and Golkar, the former Suhartoist ruling party now led by Akbar Tandjung which holds the second largest number of seats.

Elsewhere there's PPP, or the United Development Party, led by Haz, and the Muslim National Mandate Party led by Assembly Speaker Amien Rais, who has been a key figure in the rise and fall of the country's last three presidents.

Megawati style

The delay in naming a cabinet shows the cautious and deliberate way Megawati operates, but it does send some negative signals to the financial community.

Increasing the number of cabinet ministers for political reasons indicates that Megawati may be willing to sacrifice efficiency at the cost of fulfilling her political obligations.

Certainly, the delay has had some effect on the currency and financial markets wary of an indecisive and often uncommunicative leadership.

However, after four presidents in three years, many analysts believe Megawati's careful style is exactly what Indonesians want.

"It takes her some time to decide," says Jusuf Wanandi from the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "She will deliberate.

She will listen. She will ask questions, but after she decides, she will stick to it, and she will back it up."

After months of Wahid's capricious and erratic management style, a leader willing to listen, make a decision and stick to it may be just what Indonesia needs.