Politics in Indonesia: Widodo to Announce Cabinet Reshuffle
In local media it is reported that Indonesian President Joko Widodo will announce another cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday afternoon (27/07). The three ministers that - according to speculation in media - are set to be replaced are Industry Minister Saleh Husin, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said, and National Development Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil. It would be the second cabinet reshuffle that is undertaken by Widodo (in August 2015 he replaced six ministers in a cabinet reshuffle).
Indonesia's Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said already confirmed his departure from the ministry via a Twitter message.
UPDATE: Cabinet Reshuffle Indonesia: Who Are the New Ministers?
However, apart from the three above-mentioned names, Luhut Binsar Pandjaita (Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security), Thomas Lembong (Trade Minister), Yuddy Chrisnandi (Bureaucratic Reform Minister), and Rizal Ramli (Coordinating Maritime Minister) were also spotted at Jakarta's State Palace on Teusday (26/07) to meet with President Widodo. Whether these were routine meetings or related to a reshuffle is unknown.
Cabinet reshuffles are conducted because President Widodo is not content with the performance of the ministers (who are held responsible for the performance of their ministries). Replacing a minister aims to encourage better performance at the relevant ministry but is also a sign to other ministries that they better keep on their toes in terms of policy making and policy implementation. A cabinet reshuffle can also boost investors' confidence in Indonesia provided the new ministers are likened by markets.
While the cabinet reshuffle in August 2015 was more-or-less economically motivated (primarily aimed at restoring investors' confidence in Indonesia's economics team), the reshuffle today could be more politically motivated because Widodo may want to appoint more Golkar-related ministers after this party - the second-largest party of Indonesia - threw its support behind the government (previously Golkar supported Widodo's rival Prabowo Subianto in the 2014 elections). However, markets would surely prefer to see "professionals" (those not related to political parties) as they can concentrate on policy making rather than serving the interests of a particular party.
Whether the new ministers are "politicians" or "professionals" will become clear after 1:30 pm local Jakarta time today (27/07). One interesting rumor suggests that former finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati may return to the cabinet.
Bahas
Silakan login atau berlangganan untuk mengomentari kolom ini
Interesting.... hopefully technocrats are selected not political people.... Seeing Sri Mulyani Indrawati back in Indonesia would be great... could be possible now aburizal bakrie is no chairman of Golkar anymore