US embassy cable - 04JAKARTA5072

S E C R E T  JAKARTA 005072 
 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/IET; PM/NE 
DEPT PASS TO DOE/NNSAA/RHIBBS AND 
DOE/NA-25/HUIZENGA/TITTEMORE 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/28/2014 
TAGS: TRGY, AORC, KNNP, KTIA, IAEA, ENRG, PREL 
SUBJECT: POLITICAL INTRIGUE IMPERILS BAPETEN'S CHAIRMAN JOB 
 
REF: A. STATE 107497 
     B. STATE 76578 
     C. JAKARTA 1119 
     D. JAKARTA 02943 
     E. 03 STATE 270587 
     F. 03 STATE 303744 
     G. 03 JAKARTA 12094 
 
Classified By: EST&H OFFICER ANTHONY C. WOODS FOR REASON 1.5 (b, d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: Chairman of the Nuclear Energy Control Board 
(BAPETEN) Dr. Djaloeis (please protect) confided to us 25 
July that political intrigue involving one of his deputies 
and the State Minister of Research and Technology Hatta 
Rajasa, and a previously unknown radical Islamic group called 
Tharbyah posed a threat to his position. Djaloies said, 
however, that a vigorous defense of his past accomplishments 
and future plans for the agency in a letter sent to President 
Megawati convinced her to extend his tenure beyond the 
customary retirement age of 60. This could well be a 
sensationalized tale of ordinary bureaucratic infighting. 
Djaloeis said the upcoming presidential elections meant his 
future beyond that remained uncertain. Given Djaloies has 
played a pivotal role in enhanced bilateral cooperative 
efforts between Indonesia and the USG on a range of 
nuclear-related issues of importance to the U.S. We would 
hope any successor would not setback our nascent cooperation. 
End Summary. 
 
Background 
---------- 
 
2. (U) Dr. Djaloeis, who became Chairman of the Nuclear 
Energy Control Board (BAPETEN) April 4 last year, reports 
directly to the President. He has three key assistants: i) 
Deputy for Nuclear Safety Assessment, Azanatio Lasman; ii) 
Deputy for Administration, and Executive Secretary, Sukarman 
Amin Joyo; and iii) Deputy for License and Inspections, 
Suharto Zahir. Usually, the Chairman and his deputies are 
nominated together to ensure a harmonious and effective team. 
However, although Djaloies nominally reports to the 
President, on certain procedural issues he actually reports 
through the State Minister for Research and Technology, Hatta 
Rajasa, whose ministry coordinates all technical agencies, 
including BAPETEN, that deal with science, technology and 
research. 
 
Retirement 
---------- 
 
3. (C) Djaloeis told EST&H officer 25 May that recent 
political intrigue, perhaps encouraged by his putative 
imminent retirement, could imperil his tenure at the agency. 
He said that as far as he knew, he had no issues with his 
colleagues and indeed considered them friends and even part 
of his family. He noted, however, that as his 60th birthday 
approached (May 9, 2004), the customary civil service 
retirement age, two of his deputies, Zahir and Joyo expressed 
anxiety about his potential successor. He confided that he 
was puzzled by Lasman's silence on the issue but thought 
nothing of it then. Djaloeis revealed to Zahir and Joyo his 
intention to request a year's extension (a common procedure 
in the Indonesian civil service) and they agreed that he and 
all three deputies should solicit Minister Rajasa's views. 
 
The Appeal 
---------- 
 
4. (C) Djaloeis said that after he had defended his record 
and presented future plans for BAPETEN to Rajasa in the 
presence of his deputies on 4 January, the Minister assured 
him that he would recommend approval of his request to extend 
to the President. However, with no response by mid February, 
Djaloeis said he and two of his deputies revisited Rajasa. 
Rajasa surprised the group by declaring that he did not have 
a say in Djaloeis' extension. Instead, he pointed to Faisal 
Thamin, the State Minister for the Utilization of State 
Institutions, as having jurisdiction over civil service 
appointees. Pressed for further clarification, Rajasa 
abruptly stated that the President would make the final 
decision. Djaloeis said Rajasa rejected his request to 
present his case directly by letter to Megawati, insisting 
that it had to be sent through Rajasa's office. However, 
after sending the letter through Rajasa on February 26, he 
could never confirm receipt of the letter by Rajasa. 
 
The Deal 
-------- 
 
5. (C) Djaloeis said his scheduled departure for the Nuclear 
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meetings in New York forced him to 
be proactive to avoid unpleasant surprises during his 
absence. Thus he met separately with each of his deputies to 
remind them of his friendship, emphasize his record at 
BAPETEN, and solicit their continued support. Of the three, 
only Lasman demurred, and when pressed, he confessed that 
Rajasa planned to replace Djaloies and make him Chairman. 
Lasman explained to a shocked Djaloeis that the plan emerged 
from a deal between the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), 
headed by Hidayat Nur Wahid, and the National Mandate Party 
(PAN), led by Amien Rais. Asked how he got Lasman to reveal 
such damaging information, Djaloeis opined that Lasman 
appeared consumed by unease and guilt regarding his apparent 
betrayal and thus could bear his secret no more. 
 
What Lies Beneath 
----------------- 
 
6. (S) Djaloeis made further allegations to us regarding the 
whole affair. He said a good friend of his (he did not 
divulge the name) had  previously been a cell member of the 
"radical Islamic group Tharbyah," and disclosed that the 
organization was behind the plot. The former insider alleged 
that PAN is actually a front for the extremist organization. 
The informant told Djaloies that Tharbyah (Islamic Spiritual 
Education) had recently expelled him because he did not show 
the absolute loyalty demanded of its members. Finally, the 
source alleged that Lasman is a high-ranking member of 
Tharbyah. Djaloies concluded that since Hatta is PAN's 
Secretary General, it explained his involvement in the 
scheme. He said the plotters had viewed his putative 
retirement on May 9 2004, his 60th birthday, as the perfect 
opportunity to secure the top job for one of their own. 
 
Rearguard Action and Success 
---------------------------- 
 
7. (C) Djaloeis said that on the day of Lasman's revelation, 
he sent the same letter he had drafted for Rajasa directly to 
Megawati. Two days later, on 22 April, he said another of his 
deputies (Joyo) confirmed Djaloeis' proposed ouster from 
Rajasa's personal secretary, Dr. Ashwin Sasongko. Joyo also 
revealed that on 23 April, he and Zahir unsuccessfully tried 
to persuade Lasman to delay his ambitions for two to three 
years. On April 24, the day of his departure for the NPT 
conference in New York, Djaloies met with all three deputies 
and warned them of the unspecified negative consequences for 
Lasman and BAPETEN should he be forced to retire. (Note: 
Djaloeis told us that enhanced cooperration with USDOE could 
suffer from his abrupt departure. End Note). Djaloies finally 
recounted with relish Rajasa's public acknowledgement before 
parliament that the President had approved Djaloeis' his 
retirement extension. This happened May 13 in response to PAN 
parliamentarian Nur Adnan's request that Rajasa explain 
Djaloeis' continued tenure at BAPETEN after reaching retirement 
age. 
 
Postscript 
---------- 
 
8. (C) During the meeting, Djaloies seemed dazed, bemused and 
at times defiant at his recent predicament. He characterized 
his struggle as important to prevent extremist elements from 
determining the fate of his agency. Toward the end of our 
meeting, he introduced a BAPETEN colleague named Hieronimus 
Salam, whom Djaloeis claimed was secretly assisting him in 
his fight to keep his job. Later that day, Salam sent us a 
text message declaring that he is a practicing Catholic, who 
is determined to "attack and reduce the power of Jamaah 
Islamiya" in Indonesia. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
9. (C) Djaloies appeared convinced of the veracity of his 
source's assertions,  especially since they solved (for him 
at least) a number of puzzling questions he had concerning 
Lasman and Rajasa's role in the botched affair. Djaloies 
source, in labeling PAN as a front for Tharbyah, could be 
drawing conclusions from rumor, hearsay, or perhaps 
non-representative experiences. We never heard of this group 
before but open source searches came up with a few groups 
with similar sounding names. For instance, the Tarbiyah 
(Islamic Education), alias Ikwanul Muslimin (IM), supposedly 
emerged in Indonesia in the 1980's with the return of 
scholars from the Middle East. Besides religion, its 
teachings encompass socioeconomic and political issues, with 
the ultimate goal of an Islamic State. Another source (FBIS 
quoted Sloahuddin, an Indonesian freelance journalist) stated 
that a certain Tarbiyah or IM became the PKS. Other open 
sources claim the "Tarbiyah Movement" in Indonesia, with 
generous funding from Saudi Arabia, has 
established congregations or "jamaah salaf" among students at 
various state universities, such as the Bandung Institute of 
Technology (ITB). Yet another open source claimed that IM (or 
Tarbiyah) is "the biggest Islamic movement in the modern 
era," whose primary goal is to arrest the trend of 
secularization in the Islamic world. 
 
10. (C) Of course Djaloeis may just be sensationalizing 
ordinary bureaucratic infighting by appealing to what he 
considers our concerns. While there are ardent Islamists 
associated with PAN, and PAN enjoys close ties with PKS, it 
seems highly unlikely that PAN -- one of Indonesia's main 
political parties - is a front for Tharbyah. Furthermore, in 
his capacity as PAN Secretary General, Hatta Rajasa has 
fought against the Islamists in the party to advocate a more 
pluralistic approach. We suspect that Djaloies sees an 
Islamist motivation where none exists. Whether he seeks to 
create one, hoping it will resonate with us, is unclear. 
There could be many non-ideological reasons -- job 
preservation -- why Djaloeis has shared with us his account 
of Rajasa's efforts to replace him. 
 
11. (C) Djaloeis has played  a pivotal role in the 
accelerated pace of close cooperation with USDOE over the 
past year. His numerous visits to Washington to move policy 
along (refs A, B, E and F) and his pivotal role in DOE and 
IAEA visits to provide security safeguards to Indonesia's 
three nuclear facilities (ref G), remove and return spent 
fuel to the U.S. this past March (ref D), and provide 
security upgrades to radiological facilities nationwide (ref 
C) clearly demonstrate his positive role in continued 
US-Indonesian cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear 
energy. His retirement extension to the end of December may 
be only a temporary reprieve. The next president will most 
likely have the final say on whether Djaloies stays. With 
just over a month before the first round of presidential 
elections, the PAN candidate appears unlikely to make it into 
the second round. 
 
Boyce