The Seventh Development Cabinet (
Indonesian: Kabinet Pembangunan VII) was the
Indonesian cabinet which served under President
Suharto and Vice President
B. J. Habibie from 16 March 1998 to 21 May 1998.
The cabinet was formed in the midst of the
Asian financial crisis and after Suharto was elected to a 7th term as President by the
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR). It was a controversial cabinet where Suharto displayed his
nepotism by appointing
Siti Hardiyanti Rukmana as Minister of Social Affairs and gave
Bob Hasan, a crony, the position of Minister of Industry and Trade. When things went out of control in May 1998, Suharto tried to reshuffle the cabinet, but the rejection of 14 ministers to be part of the reshuffled cabinet became one of the reasons why Suharto chose to resign from the presidency.
The four cabinet aims
Whilst announcing the cabinet, Suharto also announced its aims.[1]
Development trilogy: Consisting of national stability,
economic growth, and equity as the tried and tested basis of the policy of development.
Self-reliance: Letting the nation go from reliance on other entities to self-confidence in the nation's own abilities, and having the capability to face the unpredictableness of
globalization.
National resilience: national resilience will grow out of self-reliance, togetherness, and familial spirit. This will consist of skill and strength of the Nation in facing challenges and threats.
Unity and oneness: The two elements will strengthen national resilience and will ensure the continuity of livelihood as a nation, state, and people with the 1945 Constitution and
Pancasila as its basis.
Simanjuntak, P. N. H. (2003), Kabinet-Kabinet Republik Indonesia: Dari Awal Kemerdekaan Sampai Reformasi (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Djambatan, pp. 384–405,
ISBN979-428-499-8.