President Joko Widodo Unveils His Cabinet

Robert Sidauruk, ANT
 
After several delays, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has finally announced the people who will be appointed ministers and fill 34 positions in what he is calling his “Working Cabinet” (Kabinet Kerja), at the Istana Merdeka, in Jakarta on Sunday.
 
The President said that the appointment process has been carefully conducted to ensure only people with clean records and integrity would sit on the cabinet. This objective is also the President’s main reason as to why over the last few weeks he had been consulting with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) about ministerial candidates prior to the announcement of appointments.
 
“This cabinet will serve for the next five years and we want to have people who are properly selected and have clean records, that is why we consulted with the KPK and the PPATK”, said the President.
 
With informal and relaxed nuance, Mr. Jokowi called his new ministers one by one and gave short personal background and details of their competencies and experience. The Working Cabinet consists of 16 ministers from political parties and 18 ministers from non-political parties. The new ministers will be inaugurated today.
 
The complete list of the Working Cabinet is as follows:
1.       Minister of State Secretary: Pratikno
2.      Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs: Indroyono Susilo
3.      Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law, and Security: Tedjo Edhy Purdjianto
4.      Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs: Sofyan Djalil
5.      Coordinating Minister of Human Development and Cultural Affairs: Puan Maharani
6.      Minister of Interior Affairs: Tjahjo Kumolo
7.      Minister of Foreign Affairs: Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi
8.      Minister of Defense: Ryamizard Ryacudu
9.      Minister of Finance: Bambang Brojonegoro
10.   Minister of Industry: Saleh Husin
11.    Minister of Trade: Rahmat Gobel
12.   Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources: Sudirman Said
13.   Minister of Environmental Affairs and Forestry: Siti Nurbaya
14.   Minister of Agriculture: Amran Sulaiman
15.   Minister of Manpower: Hanif Dhakiri
16.   Minister of Communication and Information Technology: Rudiantara
17.   Minister of State Owned Enterprises: Rini Soemarno
18.   Minister of Law and Human Rights: Yosanna H Laoly
19.   Minister of Transportation: Ignasius Jonan
20.  Minister of Marine and Fisheries: Susi Pudjiastuti
21.   Minister of National Development Planning/Chairperson of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas): Andrinof Chaniago
22.  Minister of Tourism: Arief Yahya
23.  Minister of State Apparatus Development and Bureaucracy Reform: Yuddy Chrisnandi
24.  Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises: AAGN Puspayoga
25.  Minister of Public Works and Public Housing: Basuki Hadimulyono
26.  Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Affairs/Head of National Land Agency: Ferry Mursyidan Baldan
27.  Minister of Religious Affairs: Lukman Hakim Saefuddin
28.  Minister of Health: Nila F Moeloek
29.  Minister of Social Affairs: Khofifah Indar Parawansa
30.  Minister of Woman Development and Child Protection: Yohana Yembise
31.   Minister of Culture, Elementary and Secondary Education: Anies Baswedan
32.  Minister of Research and Technology and Higher Education: Muhammad Nasir
33.  Minister of Youth and Sport: Imam Nahrawi
34.  Minister of Villages, Development of Underprivileged Region, and Transmigration: Marwan Jafar
 
Pros and Cons
Before even commencing their duties, the newly established cabinet has already been subject to criticism from numbers of circles. Laode Ida, former Vice Chairman of the Regional Representative Council (DPD), argued that the ministerial composition of the Working Cabinet does not represent diversity of ethnic groups in Indonesia.
 
Mrs. Ida noted that of 34 ministers, only four ministers originate from the east area of Indonesia, namely Rahmat Gobel, Saleh Husin, Yohanan Yambise, and Amran Sulaiman. None of the ministers come from Kalimantan or Batak tribes, while the rest are from Java or other part of Sumatera.
 
“This shows that the President is insensitive to the diversity of cultures in Indonesia,” said Mrs. Ida.
 
However, Syamsuddin Harris, Politic Expert and Senior Researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Science (LIPI), contends that the President has tried to adopt a professional composition for his cabinet rather than a political one. This is evident from the greater number of non-political ministers (professionals and practitioners) compared to political party members.
 
‘’All the professionals have strong competence,” said Mr. Haris.
 
Furthermore, Mr. Harris also highlighted the efforts taken by the President in consulting on his potential ministers with the KPK and the PPATK. Mr. Harris stated that this approach to selecting ministers should be applauded.
 
“This selection process aims to ensure the integrity and good track record of his ministers”, concluded Mr. Harris.
 
(hot/kc)