Down to Work

Since the United States of Indonesia got its independence last December, its leaders have worked harder at reducing their 16 states into a single unit than at the massive job of governing their country. After eight months of friction, sometimes resulting in bloodshed (TiME, April 24), the U.S.I, was transformed on Aug. 17 into a Republic of Indonesia with all power concentrated in Java's capital, Jakarta. Last week Indonesia finally got down to the serious business of making independence work.

First job at hand was appointment of a new government to replace the U.S.I, cabinet of tiring, diabetic Premier Mohamed Hatta. Last week, after a fortnight of backroom politics, Mohamed Natsir, 42-year-old socialist chairman of the Masjumi (Moslem) Party Political Council, announced agreement upon an 18-man coalition government with himself as Premier. The new cabinet was built around the Masjumi Party's five cabinet seats, and included eight minor party representatives. The Nationalist and Communist Parties were omitted. The once proud, powerful Nationalist Party, second in size only to the Masjumi, had lost its purpose when independence was won.

New Premier Natsir, a thoroughgoing antiCommunist, is an orthodox, devout Moslem and prewar schoolteacher who first achieved national prominence as Information Minister in the old, revolutionary republic. Like all three previous Indonesian Premiers, he is Sumatra-born.

The new government last week promised to add Western New Guinea to Indonesia's domain. In line with the agreement reached at the sovereignty transfer, Western New Guinea would remain under Dutch control until Dec. 27. Before that date both parties must meet to settle its future. Should they fail, the question of who gets this rich territory would revert to the Security Council.

Indonesia's President Soekarno warned last month that unless a peaceful solution to the New Guinea issue were found this year, a "major conflict might arise."

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