http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/11/15/door-wide-open-only-president%E2%80%99s-capable-relatives-sby-aide.html
Door wide open only for President's capable relatives: SBY aide Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post | Mon, 11/15/2010 10:21 AM | Feature While the relatives of the First Family have now taken a greater role in the country's political, economic and military sphere, critics repeatedly allege that their rise in stature was being collusively accommodated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. The family's close associate and the President's special aid for communication, Heru Lelono, denies the allegations. Here are the excerpts of his interview with The Jakarta Post: Question: How does the family respond to allegations that they are building up resources by any means to create a dynasty? Answer: As a very close friend to the family, I know very well that they have never had the slightest thought or inclination to create a dynasty to stay in power. Yudhoyono only installs people to top posts because of their capabilities and integrity. However, this should not shut the doors for the family's relatives who are indeed capable. For example, when Lt. Gen. (ret.) Erwin Sudjono was promoted as chief of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) (in September 2007) from his previous post as a division commander, there was an uproar from the public. What is Erwin's sin that he did not deserve such a post at the time? He never had thoughts that his brother in law would become President. This also applies to Let. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, the current Kostrad chief. Pramono started his carrier from zero at the Army and has all the capabilities necessary for such a post. In my discussions with Yudhoyono, he always underlined the dangers of a dynasty clawing for power as in the case of several local leaders who have promoted their spouses as successors in elections. Dynasties tend to have absolute power that obviously leads to absolute corruption. This is the danger of a dynasty in our political system and it also against our principles of democracy. What about Yudhoyono's relatives in state companies and in businesses who have links with government projects and policies? You are talking about Gatot Suwondo (president director of state-owned bank BNI) right? You should check his track record before he got the job. He's a professional banker and there were no irregularities during his selection for the post. He also never expected Yudhoyono would become President. Even though Gatot is a relative, is he not entitled to a similar and equal chance as other executives, as a professional, to compete for the job? When he took the helm, the bank performed well right? So what's wrong with that? What about in businesses? Aren't (the relatives) allowed to run businesses? Is there a violation of the law there? What matters is they have not gained benefits because of an abuse of power by Yudhoyono. They have also not committed any crimes or violated any regulations. We should view this objectively. The President's relatives should not be banned from running business merely because they happen to be the relatives. Such a notion violates human rights. As long as they stay within the regulations and ethics, it's no big deal. If the public wants restrictions in place, then a law should be passed. State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar said in a recent interview that he received an instruction from Yudhoyono to accommodate his relatives who meet requirements to do business with state-owned companies. How do you respond to his claims? That's just not right. There were no such instructions to Mustafa. What happened was that Mustafa came to Yudhoyono for advice because the President's relatives once came to him. Yudhoyono said that if the relatives had the capability, they should be accommodated. But this applies in general. If one of the President's relatives is already a director at a state-owned company, then it is not fair to curb their prospects for a higher position. What about the President's relatives in the Democratic Party? This is just different story. It is the right of all citizens to join a political party. For example, I'm still a member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and the party cannot revoke my membership although I serve Yudhoyono. It was I who introduced Yudhoyono to (PDI-P chairwowan) Megawati Soekarnoputri. My point is that it is my right to join a party regardless of who I am. And in a party, there is no such thing as a dynasty. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: [email protected] Subscribe : [email protected] Unsubscribe : [email protected] List owner : [email protected] Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! 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