Deputy Investment Minister Yuliot Tanjung (left), Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono (middle) and Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono (right) give brief speeches following their inauguration at the Presidential Palace on July 18, 2024. - Photo: The Jakarta Post/ANN
JAKARTA: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appointed two members of president-elect Prabowo Subianto ’s inner circle as deputy ministers of finance and agriculture in a move experts say is aimed at ensuring a smooth transition to the incoming administration but may pose risks to the economy.
At the Presidential Palace on Thursday (July 18), Jokowi swore in Prabowo’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono as deputy finance minister and his former aide Sudaryono as deputy agriculture minister.
The ceremony also included promoting Yuliot Tanjung, who has worked at the Investment Coordinating Board since 1988, to deputy investment minister.
In his inaugural speech, Thomas said his appointment “showed the continuity” between the outgoing and incoming government.
He also ensured that Prabowo’s flagship programmes would “be in line” with the principles and financial prudence of the current administration.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in a separate press conference after the ceremony that the ministry now had two deputies.
Thomas would focus on formulating the upcoming 2025 state budget proposal, which is to be Prabowo’s first state budget as president.
Meanwhile, Suahasil Nazara, who has held his post since October 2019, would focus on overseeing this year’s budget.
“With Mas Thomas around, everything is easier because communication is automatically established,” said Sri Mulyani.
She denied that the previous situation, in which Thomas coordinated with the ministry from outside, had not gone well.
Thomas is Prabowo’s key economic advisor and met with Sri Mulyani in June to discuss the next year’s budget, according to Bloomberg.
He also made his first public appearance on June 24 to dispel concerns from investors about fiscal prudence in the next administration.
Thomas is the son of Soedradjad Djiwandono, who was married to Prabowo’s sister Biantiningsih Miderawati Djiwandono.
His father was a central bank governor in the 1990s under the New Order era and is currently the general treasurer at Prabowo’s own Gerindra Party.
Thomas attended Haverford College in Pennsylvania for his undergraduate degree and earned a master’s degree in international relations and international economics from Johns Hopkins University.
He was also appointed deputy CEO of Arsari Group, which belongs to Prabowo’s brother Hashim Djojohadikusumo. Sudaryono, meanwhile, is the head of Gerindra’s regional executive board (DPD) in Central Java.
Surveys showed that he would have been a strong contender for governor of Central Java, but he left the race to focus on his job as the deputy minister.
After graduating from Taruna Nusantara high school, an elite high school that employs militaristic discipline, Sudaryono earned a scholarship to continue his studies at the National Defense Academy in Japan.
Upon his return to Indonesia, he joined Prabowo’s personal assistance team.
Since 2021, he has been serving as chairman of the Traditional Market Traders Association of Indonesia (APPSI).
Both Thomas and Sudaryono have close ties to Prabowo, and analysts say their appointments lean into nepotism and cronyism.
Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) executive director Bhima Yudhistira told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that Thomas’s appointment might “bring about negative sentiments” in the archipelago’s economy.
“This is like nepotism getting normalized, precisely akin to the New Order,” said Bhima, who added that the appointments were “not based on merit”.
Given its importance and degree of attention from investors, the Finance Ministry has typically been reserved for technically qualified candidates.
Wijayanto Samirin, an economist at Paramadina University, told the Post on Thursday that investors would cautiously await the appointment of the incoming administration’s finance minister, who has yet to be named.
“If [Thomas] remains deputy minister [until Prabowo takes office], ideally the minister should be from an economist background,” said Wijayanto.
Gerindra Party lawmaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad and Prabowo’s transition team head said on Thursday that Thomas would serve in the same role after Prabowo’s term officially started in October, according to Reuters.
Firman Noor, senior political researcher at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), told the Post on Thursday that the appointments were more of a cabinet transition arrangement in which favors were returned and party politics played out.
He saw the action as ethically problematic, even though it was legal.
“What’s not legitimate in Indonesia, though? As long as elites have a will, anything can ultimately become [legally] legitimate. But, once again, the problem is ethics,” said Firman.
Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Indonesia political department head Arya Fernandes viewed the arrangement in a more positive light, calling it a “new and innovative” way to transition.
“Naturally there were political talks and deals between Jokowi and Prabowo.
"That’s something normal and ordinary since power is [always connected] to negotiation, lobbying and deals,” Arya told the Post on Thursday.
Bhima of CELIOS, on the other hand, said the arrangement showed that Prabowo would “likely be more surrounded by his cronies than Jokowi was”. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
