The government must exercise prudence when it replaces top executives of state-owned enterprises (SOE), who should be chosen for their performance and their capacity to serve the public and the state. SOEs should not become a stage for political games, or for simply returning favors.

The news that SOE Minister Rini Soemarno fired Pertamina CEO Elia Massa Manik and four other board members through last Fridays extraordinary shareholders meeting c