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More ministries could lead to more corruption: Mahfud
Mahfud said that the proposal to add more ministerial portfolios should be a seen as a move to reward the many political parties that had contributed to the presidential bid of Prabowo in the Feb. 14 election.
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Then-coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Mahfud MD gives a speech during an event in Bandung, West Java, on Sept. 13, 2023.
(Antara/Novrian Arbi)
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ormer coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister Mahfud MD has criticized the proposal by politicians within the coalition of president-elect Prabowo Subianto to increase the number of ministries in the upcoming administration, saying that it could lead to more corruption.
Mahfud said the proposal to add more ministerial portfolios should be a seen as a move to reward the many political parties that had contributed to the presidential bid of Prabowo in the Feb. 14 election.
"The more ministries, the more we will have sources of corruption. Especially because individual ministries have their own budgets," Mahfud said in a seminar organized by the Yogyakarta-based Indonesian Islamic University (UII).
Mahfud said that in the past decade there had been a tendency to add new ministries in successive administrations as they aimed to create an all-inclusive government.
"It was 26 and then 34 and then they added some more. After the next election, it will probably be 60. The collusion is getting wider. This country will be ruined," Mahfud said.
Local media outlets have reported that Prabowo is looking at adding new portfolios to accommodate demands from leaders of political parties who are eager to get more seats in the cabinet.
Gerindra Party executive Habiburokhman said that adding new ministries to the upcoming administration of party patron and president-elect Prabowo would be a “good thing” for the country.
“I don’t see any issues with involving as many people as possible [in the cabinet],” he was quoted by Antara as saying on Monday.
“We are a big country with big challenges and big targets. It’s only reasonable that we need a lot of people in the government.”
