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embers of President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s administration have called on political parties to not interfere with the President'€™s prerogative by making rash statements to bargain for Cabinet posts.

Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo criticized on Monday the chairman of the National Mandate Party'€™s (PAN) central executive board, Azis Subekti, who told the public that the party had secured two Cabinet posts in exchange for its support of the government, calling the move an attempt to undermine the President'€™s authority.

'€œIn my opinion, the statement of the PAN central executive board chairman related to the Cabinet reshuffle, in which [PAN] is believed to have secured ministerial posts, is unethical,'€ Tjahjo said.

As previously reported, Azis said that the party'€™s decision to support the government in September had resulted in two ministerial position offers.

Azis has claimed that current House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Taufik Kurniawan and lawmaker Asman Abnur could be tapped to replace Ignasius Jonan, a professional appointee, as transportation minister and Siti Nurbaya Bakar, a NasDem Party politician, as environment and forestry minister.

Speculation over another Cabinet shake-up has been rife over the past couple of months, following PAN'€™s decision to join the pro-government Great Indonesia Coalition, a move seen by many as a way to win seats in the Cabinet.

The House lawmakers have also confirmed that Taufik would leave his post, as part of another shake-up in House leadership.

The House is slated to inaugurate Golkar Party faction head Ade Komarudin as its new speaker following the resignation of fellow party member Setya Novanto.

PDI-P lawmakers have been rallying support to revise the Legislative Institutions (MD3) Law in a bid to take over Taufik'€™s post.

Golkar and PAN have denied that it would support PDI-P'€™s efforts to revise the law, saying that the rotation in House leadership next month would maintain the current formation of political parties.

Tjahjo called PAN'€™s maneuver counterproductive, as it may irk other Cabinet members who are still doing their job.

Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung denied Azis'€™ claim, saying that Jokowi, as the one with the prerogative, had never mentioned any names to any political parties.

'€œNo such thing occurred,'€ Pramono added, later joining Tjahjo in calling on all to respect the President.

'€œIn democracy, of course we hope [all] respect the President'€™s authority,'€ he said, adding that if Jokowi perceived a reshuffle was needed, he would have his own calculations, since the President always evaluated his ministers.

Pramono also rebuffed Azis'€™ claim that he had received such information over a reshuffle from someone inside the State Palace and later expressed his support for Tjahjo'€™s call.

'€œTjahjo made a positive statement, calling on parties not to dictate or interfere [with Jokowi'€™s prerogative],'€ said Pramono, who is also a former PDI-P lawmaker.

President Jokowi signaled that a Cabinet reshuffle was imminent on Sunday.

He said that he would not tolerate any delays in infrastructure projects.

'€œI will call the ministers [who are slacking]. I will give them one-and-a-half months. If there is still no progress. I will give red marks. Later, I will replace [the ministers],'€ he said during his visit to Boyolali, Central Java.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that Jokowi had yet to mention PAN'€™s Cabinet posts.

'€œI don'€™t know. [The reshuffle] has yet to be discussed,'€ he said on Monday.

Political communication expert Gun Gun Heryanto said there was a high chance that a Cabinet shake-up would occur soon considering that Jokowi needed to improve the overall performance of his ministers.

Gun Gun later called on the President to not bow to political pressure.

'€œIf Jokowi wants to reshuffle his Cabinet, it must be done only due to consideration of their performance, not because of political pressures to accommodate certain political interests,'€ Gun Gun said.

Gun Gun said that if PAN wanted to test the waters, it should have stated its readiness to join the Cabinet and mentioned the general qualities of the candidates, instead.

Aside from Jonan and Siti, Attorney General M. Prasetyo, who is a NasDem supporter, have also been targeted for making a number of moves that many considered to be partisan.
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