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Transition team to help Jokowi deliver campaign promises
President-elect Joko âJokowiâ Widodo has introduced a new approach to state governance by forming a so-called transition team tasked with presenting a set of objectives for the new administration that reflect Jokowiâs campaign promises
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President-elect Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo has introduced a new approach to state governance by forming a so-called transition team tasked with presenting a set of objectives for the new administration that reflect Jokowi's campaign promises.
As an apolitical technical working group, the team consists of experts, politicians and academics.
The core tasks of the team will be given to several working units that will compile data and information through a series of meetings with officials of the current administration.
Each of the units will be been given free reign to consult anyone they deem relevant to the issues they are working on immediately after the Constitutional Court issues its ruling on the presidential election dispute filed by the losing Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa ticket, on Aug. 21.
'The unit's counterparts can be ministers, the heads of government agencies or officials at director-general level,' said Andi Widjajanto, one of the four transition team deputies.
There are 13 working units that will analyze issues ranging from energy management to security. The units will report their findings to the designated deputies.
'The four deputies will serve as coordinators of the units and task forces,' said Andi, who handles issues related to security, defense and organizational architecture.
Aside from Andi, who is a defense expert by training, Jokowi has also appointed Paramadina University rector Anies Baswedan, Nasdem Party politician Akbar Faizal and Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) deputy secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto to head working units.
Anies will oversee people's welfare, rural issues, poverty eradication, health and education. Akbar, meanwhile, will handle infrastructure, energy, housing and the public service sectors.
Hasto will oversee issues related to legislation, law and budget.
Apart from the working units, the transition team also features four task forces charged with analyzing with four specific issues: the state budget, the implementation of Jokowi's 'mental revolution', and political communication and impromptu visits, locally known as blusukan.
The state budget task force is tasked with formulating a budget that accommodates Jokowi's programs, vision and mission.
The mental revolution task force will draft working programs to help spark Jokowi's 'mental revolution', a goal prominently featured in his campaign; essentially, the 'mental revolution' seeks to revolutionize people's way of thinking and encourage the adoption of positive values in all sectors.
The political communication unit, meanwhile, will deal with the team's interaction with political parties aligned with Jokowi's governing PDI-P coalition and those in the opposition camp.
The blusukan task force will be responsible for identifying the real problems facing the country as well as arranging a schedule for Jokowi's impromptu visits.
Prananda Prabowo, the son of PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri, as well as Wahyu Sakti Trenggono, a former politician from the National Mandate Party (PAN), will lead the blusukan task force.
According to Hasto, those consulted for input for the transitional team will be crucial in identifying the problems responsible for 'weaknesses' in government delivery of services and effective policy-making.
'Our output will be [in the form of] recommendations on what Jokowi should do in the first three months, six months and one year, according to scaled priorities,' said Hasto.
The transition team is led by Rini Mariani Soemarno, a former president director at PT Astra International and a close aide to the Megawati.
Rini, also a former trade and industry minister in Megawati's Cabinet, remained loyal to Megawati after she handed over the presidency to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2004.
Although Jokowi has repeatedly said that the transition team would not be tasked with selecting ministerial candidates, several politicians in his coalition camp have protested the idea, as well as the appointments of politicians Akbar and Hasto to the team.
A National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, who requested anonymity, said that it was inappropriate to appoint Akbar as a deputy because the PKB is bigger than Akbar's NasDem. The PKB won 9.04 percent of the vote compared to NasDem's 6.72 percent in April's legislative election.
Jokowi was quick to defuse the tension, meeting with PKB chairman Muhaimin Iskandar last week.
