Close aides:  President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo (right) inaugurates nine members of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres) at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Monday. (Antara/Andika Wahyu)

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo inaugurated on Monday nine members of the Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres), the establishment of which is mandated by the Constitution.

Six figures coming from the political parties that support Jokowi'€™s administration are among the nine new members sworn in at the State Palace. They are National Awakening Party (PKB) deputy chairman Rusdi Kirana, who is also co-founder and former chief executive of Lion Air, one of the largest low-cost carriers; Jan Darmadi of the NasDem Party, who is also a property tycoon; and United Development Party (PPP) senior politician Suharso Monoarfa, who is also a former public housing minister.

Other political figures, who are also retired generals, are Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) senior politician and former People'€™s Representative Council (MPR) speaker Sidarto Danusubroto; Hanura Party'€™s Gen. (ret.) Subagyo HS; and Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) secretary-general Lt. Gen. (ret.) Yusuf Kartanegara. Sidarto is also a former West Java Police chief, while Subagyo is a former Army'€™s Special Force (Kopassus) commander and former Army chief of staff.

Abdul Malik Fadjar, an executive at the country'€™s second-largest Muslim organization Muhammadiyah; Hasyim Muzadi, a noted figure in the largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama (NU); and Gadjah Mada University economist Sri Adiningsih are also among the nine.

State Secretary Pratikno defended Jokowi'€™s decision, saying that '€œwe need persons who have strong networking and competency to advise the President'€.

Previously, others said to be among the candidates included former National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Gen. (ret.) AM Hendropriyono and Mustika Ratu president Mooryati Soedibyo, who is said to be linked to Jokowi'€™s party, the PDI-P.

Hendropriyono, Pratikno said, rejected the offer '€œbecause [he] had been involved for too long in government matters.'€ As for Mooryati, Pratikno said he did not know the reason why she was not among the inaugurated members.

Citing his age as his main concern, Ahmad Syafii Maarif, a renowned pluralists and former chairman of Muhammadiyah, previously rejected Jokowi'€™s offer, which opened the slot to Abdul Malik Fadjar.

'€œThere were endorsements of candidates by the chairpersons of the political parties,'€ Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanyo said, adding that Sri was proposed by PDI-P chairwoman Megawati Soekarnoputri, while Sidarto was personally asked by Jokowi to be on the board.

Andi also confirmed that Malik Fadjar replaced Syafii Maarif following the latter'€™s rejection.

Sidarto said Jokowi needed '€œpolitical backup and backup from mass organizations and the military and police'€, since he was neither a general nor a political elite.

'€œ[Because] in making a decision, a person needs to pick [the best] among [many] options,'€ Sidarto said on the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony at the State Palace.

Citing a 2006 law, Andi later reminded newly inaugurated members that they should resign from any executive posts in political parties, state-owned or private companies and civil society organizations at least three months after their inaugurations.

Rusdi said the law indeed required him to step down from any top business position in the next three months.

Pratikno said Wantimpres had a different role to that of the office of the presidential chief of staff, explaining that, '€œWantimpres gives advice, while the presidential office is a direct support system for the President'€.

The 2006 law on Wantimpres stipulates that Wantimpres should be formed at least three months after a president'€™s inauguration.

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