President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s close aide Dipo Alam was among the first to come to the President’s defense when prominent religious leaders accused the government of lying. Dipo called the leaders “black crows”.
“I defended the President because the minister dealing with religious affairs kept silent,” he told The Jakarta Post. “If cabinet ministers fail to respond to certain issues, I will speak up.”
Yudhoyono has surrounded himself with many people like Dipo, who he seems to trust more than the Cabinet ministers who come from parties in the President’s coalition but often prove defiant to government policies. Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, for example, is chair of the United Development Party (PPP).
The President’s aides number around 70, hired under presidential instructions and regulations known as Inpres or Perpres, and the list is not likely to end soon. The President has instructed Vice President Boediono to set up a task force on development acceleration in Papua and West Papua, to be called UP4B. That work sounds much like what falls under the responsibility of the Disadvantaged Regions Minister Ahmad Helmi Faisal Zaini, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB).
Since the beginning of his second term, the President has appointed 12 special staffers, with each allowed to recruit three deputies, who can each hire up to three staffers.
A source close to the Presidential Palace told the Post that special staffers and deputies dedicated less than 50 percent of their energy to their primary tasks, spending more time with political lobbies.
The source said presidential special staff had a monthly meeting at Yudhoyono’s home in Cikeas, West Java, to discuss the President’s agenda.
The president also hired an advisory council consisting of eight prominent figures, mostly former ministers like Hassan Wirajuda, Emil Salim and Meutia Hatta Swasono.
Like the presidential staff, all members of the advisory council attend a weekly meeting at the State Palace on Thursdays.
To monitor the Cabinet’s performance, the President set up the Presidential Work Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4) headed by Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, who has four deputies.
UKP4 was deemed a “super body” for its huge contribution to the Yudhoyono administration.
Kuntoro, who usually sits beside Vice President Boediono at Cabinet meetings, also led the presidential task forces on judicial mafia eradication and on preparations to set up an institution on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD Plus).
Politicians and critics accused the Judicial Mafia Taskforce of being Yudhoyono’s political vehicle rather than a unit to clean up law enforcement.
Yudhoyono has also set up a number of councils, committees and teams to assist him in dealing with certain issues. Some are similar to ministries’ job descriptions.
The National Council on Climate Change (DNPI), set up through a presidential instruction, has a similar job to the Environment Ministry.
Presidential spokesman on domestic affairs Julian Aldrin Pasha said that relations between ministers and presidential special staff or advisory council members ran smoothly.
“I ensure you, [there are] no overlapping jobs between ministers and presidential special staff. The relations are so far, so good,” he said.