http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/ical-blasts-threatening-by-democrats/357966
February 11, 2010 Febriamy Hutapea, Muninggar Sri Saraswati & Camelia Pasandaran Ical Blasts 'Threatening' By Democrats Golkar Chairman Aburizal Bakrie hit back on Wednesday against calls by the Democratic Party to dismiss Golkar ministers from the cabinet, as tensions escalated within President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's ruling coalition over the Bank Century probe. Aburizal spent part of the day at the House of Representatives huddling with top Golkar leaders, including lawmakers on the House of Representatives special committee investigating the Rp 6.7 trillion ($710 million) bailout of the bank. The president, meanwhile, met at the State Palace with members of his inner circle, including Vice President Boediono. While saying before his meeting that Golkar officials would be "discussing the party's performance and program," Aburizal made his agenda clear by telling reporters firmly that he did not like to be threatened. "[The Democrats] are not the president," he said. "Every party has an equal position and it was written in the coalition agreement. We can't threaten each other. I never threaten others, so don't ever try to threaten me." The Golkar chairman was responding to suggestions by Democrat leaders last week that Yudhoyono should reshuffle the cabinet to remove coalition partners that lined up against the government in the bailout inquiry. Seven of nine political party factions on the special committee, including Golkar and three other coalition members, said on Monday that they had reached a preliminary conclusion that the bailout was illegal and mired in corruption. There is widespread speculation that Aburizal is using the Bank Century probe to squeeze political concessions out of Yudhoyono, namely the removal of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and possibly Boediono. Sri Mulyani and Boediono, who was Bank Indonesia governor at the time of the rescue, were at the center of the 2008 bailout decision. Rumors swirled for much of Wednesday that Yudhoyono and Aburizal had reached a political deal that would see Sri Mulyani leave the cabinet to become central bank governor. The rumors were sparked by presidential spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha, who said Sri Mulyani's name would likely be included on a list of candidates for the central bank job due to be announced soon. "Yes, it seems that way," he said when asked if Sri Mulyani was a candidate for the position. "The president is now considering several names and is in the process of finalizing it." However, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said Yudhoyono would only announce the candidates after the House special committee investigating the bailout wrapped up its work on March 4. Aburizal said, "Whatever the president's decision is [on a cabinet reshuffle], it will not be a problem. Even the threat of being shot to death will not change Golkar's stance." He said Golkar would stand by its preliminary conclusion that the bailout was illegal, and that it was prepared for its ministers to be dismissed because it was the president's prerogative to do so. "But Golkar also has the right to recall our ministers from the cabinet," he said. The Golkar meeting came a day after the South Jakarta District Court rejected a Bakrie family-affiliated company's motion to stop a tax evasion investigation. On Monday, Yudhoyono had ordered the National Police to hunt down anyone suspected of tax evasion - a move seen as a political warning to Aburizal and his Bakrie group. Yunarto Wijaya, a researcher at Charta Politika, said Golkar's aggressive stance on the Bank Century case was part of a negotiating strategy to oust Sri Mulyani, who clashed with Aburizal when they served in Yudhoyono's first administration. "I believe the interests of [Bakrie] and Golkar are more on negotiating over the position of Sri Mulyani, who does not have such good relations with him," Wijaya said. Related articles Showdown With Democrats May Backfire, Indonesia Analysts Say 12:10 AM 11/02/2010 Bakrie Denies Rumors of Fresh Political Deals Over Bank Century 3:15 PM 10/02/2010 Democrats to Turn Up the Heat on Coalition Members Over Century Probe 12:43 AM 05/02/2010 Indonesian Democrats Accuse Coalition Partners of 'Betrayal' 8:24 PM 29/12/2009 Row Over New Bank Century Book Sparks Call for Stricter Libel Law 12:14 AM 28/12/2009 [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
