Indonesian Cabinet Is Sworn In

Indonesia’s new president inaugurated his Cabinet on Friday with a firm warning that the corruption that has infested the country for decades will no longer be tolerated.

President Abdurrahman Wahid took office last week, raising hopes that he can continue Indonesia’s transition to democracy after more than 30 years of autocratic rule capped by two years of political instability, economic crisis and civil unrest.

Wahid has promised that the Cabinet sworn in Friday will be free of the graft rampant under authoritarian President Suharto and his successor, B.J. Habibie. He indicated that his attorney general would be on the lookout for corruption and would prosecute any officials involved in it.

“I hope all of you can live simply, fairly and honestly and be able to perform your duties as expected by the people,” Wahid told his Cabinet during its swearing-in ceremony. “If any among you are brought to court by the attorney general, then it is better for you to resign.”

Each minister took an oath pledging “not to receive any gifts from anybody who I know, or think, will have a hidden interest related to my duty and position.”

As Wahid worked to restore confidence in the government, a scandal under his predecessor flared anew. A report by auditors at PricewaterhouseCoopers, obtained by Dow Jones Newswires on Friday, said that the equivalent of $80 million transferred out of Bank Bali to a company with ties to the former ruling Golkar Party made its way into dozens of domestic and foreign bank accounts. The accounts include those of former legislators and the party itself.

When the new ministers gathered for their official group photo in front of the presidential palace, hundreds of people congregated in a park across the street shouting: “What will happen to our jobs?” The protesters were members of the Information Ministry and Social Affairs Ministry, both of which were eliminated from the Cabinet.

“Demonstrations are nothing new for me,” Wahid said. “I wanted to go to speak to them. But my security men said it was unsafe.”

Analysts, financial markets and foreign governments have responded well to the Cabinet lineup, which includes representatives of all major political parties, religions, ethnic groups and islands across Indonesia.