New health minister denies virus-smuggling accusation

Erwida Maulia, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Thu, 10/22/2009 8:40 PM

New Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih denied Thursday accusations that she had smuggled samples of the bird flu virus abroad while serving at the ministry.

Endang told reporters after her inauguration ceremony that although she was involved in research into the virus, she had never taken any samples overseas or sold it to other countries.

"That's not true. I've never taken the virus overseas; I've never sold it. I only conducted research with my colleagues. There have been no exchanges whatsoever," the Harvard graduate said in response to accusations by her predecessor Siti Fadillah Supari.

Shortly after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced Endang’s inclusion in his new Cabinet on Wednesday night, Siti held a press conference at her residence during which she accused Endang of smuggling the virus and cited the incident as the reason why Endang had been dismissed her from her position at the Health Ministry's research and development agency.

Siti, however, corrected her statement on Thursday, saying she had merely learned that Endang had taken a virus sample abroad but had not sold it, and that she only rotated Endang to another unit.

Endang’s last-minute appointment has also sparked controversy as the original candidate Nila Joewita Moeloek was dropped.

Rumors circulated that Nila was not chosen because she failed the “fit-and-proper” test due to a lobby by the tobacco industry, while Endang was chosen with backing from "foreign interests".

Former state secretary Hatta Radjasa, who was involved with the appointment process of the new Cabinet ministers, denied all the rumors, saying they were "speculative".

"[Endang's] appointment was based on a tight selection, and she deserves the post. It was through a credible process in which the President was assisted by the Vice President and a small team," said Hatta, now the coordinating minister for the economy.

Endang, too, denied allegations that her appointment was backed by foreign interests, saying the rumor was probably based on her frequent partnerships with researchers from other countries including the United States, Japan and the Netherlands.

She said as the new health minister she would most likely discontinue the Health Ministry's cooperation with the US Navy's Jakarta-based Namru lab, saying future cooperation would only be between civil institutions.

"Of course we want a partnership that will benefit Indonesia. We need their technology and knowledge, so we must be open to them. But we can't just let them take advantage of us, we must gain from the partnership too," Endang said when asked what kind of research partnership she envisioned.

She also said that over the next five years she would direct the Health Ministry to achieve its health-related Millennium Development Goals.

Endang added she would improve the implementation of a number of the ministry's programs that failed to meet expectations, such as the health insurance for the poor scheme called Jamkesmas.

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Choice of Endang for Health Minister Revives Virus, Espionage Issues