All together now: The ministers gathering for a group photo after their swearing-in ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta. — AFP
Newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto swore in Indonesia’s largest Cabinet since 1966, with 109 members representing his pledge for a strong government.
He announced the lineup late Sunday and named his Cabinet of ministers, vice-ministers and head of national agencies the “Red and White Cabinet,” referring to the colours of Indonesia’s flag.
Prabowo became the eighth president of South-East Asia’s largest economy on Sunday.
The Cabinet of Prabowo’s predecessor, Joko Widodo, had 34 ministers and head of government agencies.
Prabowo’s Cabinet is the largest since 1966 when Indonesia’s first president Sukarno formed a lineup of 132 ministers in an extremely tense political situation after a failed 1965 coup. The so-called Dwikora Cabinet 2 was dismissed a month later.
Prabowo has said earlier that he needs a strong administration, even though analysts said that his “fat” Cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy.
“I want to create a strong government that would unite our multicultural society and diverse political interests,” Prabowo said before inviting more than 100 people for interviews at his residence last week.
The Cabinet features politicians from a coalition of seven parties who supported his victory in the February election, and figures allied with Jokowi’s Cabinet, who were reappointed.
Analysts said the move was a political reward to Jokowi for the latter’s tacit support in the election.
Backed by Jokowi, Prabowo swept to a landslide victory in February’s direct presidential election on promises of policy continuity.
Prabowo reappointed nearly half of Jokowi’s Cabinet members, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, making her the first person to hold the ministry under three different presidents. — AP
