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JAKARTA - Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono swore in his new ministers Thursday with a stark warning not to let their party loyalties interfere with the government's reform agenda.
The liberal former general, who was inaugurated Tuesday having won a landslide election victory in July, has compiled a rainbow coalition of six parties controlling 423 out of 560 seats in parliament.
But he has come under fire for handing most seats to party-political figures rather than competent experts more likely to improve governance and fight corruption in the world's third biggest democracy.
Yudhoyono took no questions from the media and offered no explanation for his ministerial line-up as he named his cabinet late Wednesday, saying he expected criticism of his new team.
"I'm nearly certain some people will not be satisfied with this or have other opinions," he said in a nationally televised address.
"I think that's fine.... It was the same when the last cabinet was formed, and that's democracy."
But in a warning to the new ministers after they took their oaths of office at the presidential palace on Thursday, the president said they would be expected to work hard and set aside party loyalties.
"The president is the captain of the ship. Your loyalty is to the president, not to the leaders of political parties in terms of governmental work," he said.
Yudhoyono was re-elected on promises of continued growth in Southeast Asia's biggest economy, bureaucratic reform to improve governance and attract investment, and a renewed commitment to fight deeply entrenched corruption.
Eleven years after the Suharto dictatorship's collapse ushered in a new era of "Reformasi," democracy has developed a distinctly Indonesian flavour and there is almost no transparency in the way governments are formed.
Cabinet posts are widely seen as gifts for party big-wigs in exchange for their cooperation, which is expected to last only as long as a government maintains popular support.
Centre for Strategic and International Studies economist Pande Raja Silalahi said Yudhoyono had prioritised stability over effectiveness by including 20 party appointees in the 34-seat executive.
"The cabinet shows that for SBY the most important thing is togetherness. There's no need to quarrel, no need to fight. That's his priority," he said, using Yudhoyono's nickname.
Airlangga University political analyst Daniel Sparingga said Yudhoyono was scared of political chaos, which would jeopardise economic growth.
"This cabinet reflects permanent and sustainable economic growth, which is realised by the existence of political stability," he said.
Yudhoyono's centrist Democrat Party has six portfolios, including the powerful post of energy and mineral resources.
The nationalist Golkar party, Suharto's preferred political vehicle, was given three posts including industry.
But in a sign of Golkar's dwindling stature, the Islamic Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) took four posts despite winning just 57 seats in parliament compared to Golkar's 106.
Yudhoyono has been wary of the religious vote in the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people, and appears to be hoping the PKS -- which has roots in Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood -- will shore up that flank.
On the other hand, all-important posts in economic and foreign affairs went to independent experts with solid track records.
Former International Monetary Fund senior executive Sri Mulyani Indrawati keeps the finance portfolio, while Mari Pangestu stays at the helm of the trade ministry, where she has been a steady advocate of open markets.
Foreign affairs passes from Hassan Wirayuda to career diplomat Marty Natalegawa, a former ambassador to Britain who most recently has been Indonesia's representative at the United Nations. - AFP/vm
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