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SOEs Ministry installs Prabowo’s protégé as Pertamina CEO
The State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry has appointed a member President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra Party's top brass as president director of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina in a “politically charged” move, analysts say.
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Water world: The Pertamina Hulu Energi (PHE) Offshore North West Java (ONWJ) oil and gas rig is seen on April 2, 2023, in the waters off Indramayu, West Java. (Antara/Aditya Pradana Putra)
T
he State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry has appointed Gerindra Party politician Simon Aloysius Mantiri as the new CEO of state-owned oil and gas giant Pertamina in a move which analysts see as “politically charged”.
Simon, who was deputy treasurer of President Prabowo Subianto’s national campaign team during the February election, replaced Nicke Widyawati, who has held the position since 2018.
Before entering university in 1998, Simon studied at the Taruna Nusantara High School, which many consider Prabowo’s talent pool for his cabinet. Prabowo’s brother and tycoon Hashim Djojohadikusumo said in September as quoted from Kompas that some of the school’s alumni were among those hand-picked by Prabowo to be part of his government, including as ministers.
SOEs Minister Erick Thohir defended the appointment, stressing that he believed Simon would introduce “broader and more effective breakthroughs” for Pertamina.
“God willing, I am certain that he [Simon] can work optimally, especially in regard to the innovations that have been discussed directly,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.
Before the promotion, Simon was the company’s president commissioner after the previous administration led by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo picked him to replace Basuki Tjahaja Purnama who stepped down from the position to campaign for rival presidential candidate Ganjar Panowo of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Along with Simon, the SOEs Ministry also appointed Mochamad Iriawan, former National Police commissioner general, as the firm’s president commissioner. According to state news agency Antara, Iriawan joined Gerindra Party in 2023.
