Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto (second left) on Aug 7, 2024, greets medical personnel of the Indonesian Military (TNI) who will depart for a humanitarian mission in the Middle East, during a briefing at the Defence Ministry in Jakarta. - Photo: Antara
JAKARTA: President-elect Prabowo Subianto has been steadily consolidating power ahead of his inauguration as the country’s next president, as the list of loyalists and political allies taking on key posts in the cabinet and state agencies grows months before he takes office.
Since his landslide victory in the February presidential election, Prabowo has been working to secure support in both the government and the House of Representatives to help him quickly execute his legislative agenda when his term starts on Oct 20.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who tacitly endorsed Prabowo in the election, has been helping to smooth the way for his successor with a series of cabinet reshuffles that saw members of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party and his inner circle get key positions in the government.
One example is Prabowo’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono, who was appointed a deputy finance minister in July.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati previously signaled that Thomas would likely remain in the ministry under Prabowo’s administration in a meeting at the House.
An ally of both Jokowi and Prabowo, Bahlil Lahadalia, who previously served as the investment minister, was appointed to the energy and mineral resources ministerial post on Aug 19.
Former Indonesian ambassador to the United States Rosan Roeslani, who helmed Prabowo’s campaign team, succeeded Bahlil in the Investment Ministry.
Another Gerindra politician receiving a key position in the cabinet is Supratman Andi Agtas.
The former deputy chair of House legislation body (Baleg) was named law and human rights minister, replacing Yasonna Laoly, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.
Jokowi also named Dadan Hindayana, a professor at Bogor Agricultural University (IPB), to lead the newly created National Nutrition Agency.
The institution’s main task is to oversee Prabowo’s signature free nutritious meals program, which is projected to cost the state around Rp 71 trillion (US$4.56 billion) in its first year.
On Wednesday (Sept 11), Jokowi appointed Saifullah Yusuf, secretary-general of Indonesia’s largest Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), as social affairs minister.
He replaced PDI-P politician Tri Rismaharini, who is running in the East Java gubernatorial election.
NU has supported Jokowi throughout his 10-year presidency, including by wooing members to vote for Prabowo in the February election.
But Saifullah’s appointment does not guarantee him a position in Prabowo’s cabinet, he told reporters after his inauguration.
Regardless of future positions, Gerindra politicians lauded the recent cabinet reshuffles that saw its members gain positions in the cabinet, as a necessary step to ensure a smooth transition of power.
“The reshuffles in the final two months of Jokowi’s presidency are crucial and necessary to ensure the new government can work effectively from day one,” party executive Sufmi Dasco Ahmad said on Aug 19, saying that many things need to “be synchronised” for the new government.
In the months leading up to the start of Prabowo’s presidency, a growing number of individuals close to him have been appointed to key positions at state-owned enterprises (SOEs), which commonly oversee major projects with significant budget allocations.
Among them were Burhanuddin Abdullah, an economist who heads the expert council of Prabowo’s presidential campaign, as well as Andi Arief, a senior member of the Democratic Party, which backed Prabowo’s presidential bid.
They were appointed in July as commissioners of state-owned electricity firm PLN.
Prabowo now has less than six weeks until his inauguration to assemble his cabinet, which is expected to be a contentious issue because of the huge number of political parties, groups and individuals supporting his presidential bid.
Gerindra executive Ahmad Muzani said on Monday that the president-elect had started vetting prospective candidates for his cabinet lineup, stressing that Prabowo wished to have ministers with expertise in their field.
“Pak Prabowo wants this to be a zaken cabinet, where people who are experts in their fields will hold positions, even though the person comes from or is endorsed by a political party,” Muzani said, without revealing any details on the cabinet or any proposed names.
While the names are still unclear, it is certain that Prabowo’s cabinet will be bigger than his predecessor’s.
The number of ministries may increase to more than 40 to accommodate several political allies and ensure that his incoming government can realise his programmes.
Bambang Soesatyo, a senior politician from Golkar Party, the largest party in Prabowo’s likely ruling coalition, alluded on Tuesday that the president may have up to 44 ministers, with several parties getting up to five portfolios.
He suggested that fellow Golkar lawmaker Nusron Wahid and the National Mandate Party’s (PAN) Viva Yoga Mauladi should be considered by Prabowo.
The legal avenue for a bigger cabinet seems to have been cleared, as nine House parties unanimously agreed during a Baleg meeting on Monday to endorse a bill to remove a legal limit on the number of ministries a president may have.
The bill, a revision to the 2008 Ministry Law, is expected to be passed in a plenary session by the end of the month, when sitting lawmakers are set to end their five-year term weeks before Prabowo begins his presidency, according to House Speaker Puan Maharani of the PDI-P.
“God willing, it will be finished before the next period,” she said on Tuesday. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
