TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Prabowo ‘cronies’ installed as deputy ministers under Jokowi
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Deputy Investment Minister Yuliot Tanjung (left), Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono (middle) and Deputy Agriculture Minister Sudaryono (right) give brief speeches following their inauguration at the Presidential Palace on July 18, 2024. (JP/Deni Ghifari)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has appointed two members of president-elect Prabowo Subianto’s inner circle as deputy ministers of finance and agriculture in a move experts say is aimed at ensuring a smooth transition to the incoming administration but may pose risks to the economy.
At the Presidential Palace on Thursday, Jokowi swore in Prabowo’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono as deputy finance minister and his former aide Sudaryono as deputy agriculture minister.
The ceremony also included promoting Yuliot Tanjung, who has worked at the Investment Coordinating Board since 1988, to deputy investment minister.
In his inaugural speech, Thomas said his appointment “showed the continuity” between the outgoing and incoming government. He also ensured that Prabowo’s flagship programs would “be in line” with the principles and financial prudence of the current administration.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said in a separate press conference after the ceremony that the ministry now had two deputies. Thomas would focus on formulating the upcoming 2025 state budget proposal, which is to be Prabowo’s first state budget as president.
Meanwhile, Suahasil Nazara, who has held his post since October 2019, would focus on overseeing this year’s budget.
“With Mas Thomas around, everything is easier because communication is automatically established,” said Sri Mulyani. She denied that the previous situation, in which Thomas coordinated with the ministry from outside, had not gone well.
