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Jokowi orders seventh Cabinet reshuffle
President Jokowi’s Cabinet "refresher" benefits his ruling coalition partners, political analysts have said.
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Prior to the inauguration of the new Cabinet members, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (fourth left) hosted National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan (right) and a raft of other senior political figures from his ruling coalition for lunch at the Presidential Palace grounds in Central Jakarta, on June 15, 2022. (Biro Pers dan Sekretariat Presiden/Laily Rachev)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo welcomed two new ministers and two deputy ministers into his Cabinet in his seventh reshuffle in eight years, in what analysts believe is a bid to steady the ship for the remainder of his term.
More importantly, Jokowi used the opportunity to gather the leaders of his ruling coalition in a show of strength and unity, at a time when political parties have started making preparations to contest the 2024 general elections.
Wednesday’s brief introduction of new Cabinet members ended months of speculation, which began after the President brought the National Mandate Party (PAN) into his big-tent coalition, which now controls more than 80 percent of the seats in the House of Representatives.
Jokowi carried what many observers feel will be the last reconfiguration of his administration, replacing three members of the Cabinet and introducing three new deputy ministers – a more modest reshuffle than many had predicted.
Trade Minister Muhammad Lutfi was sacked in favor of bringing in seasoned PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan, after a tumultuous few months during which the former had to contend with soaring cooking oil prices and nationwide shortages that led to the arrest of Trade Ministry officials and palm oil businessmen allegedly involved in graft.
Zulkifli continues the trend of revolving-door trade minister appointments – he is the sixth to serve in that position since Jokowi first took office in 2014.
The President also sacked Agrarian and Spatial Planning Minister Sofyan Djalil, a close ally of former vice president Jusuf Kalla, and replaced him with a loyal supporter of his own, Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal (ret.) Hadi Tjahjanto. Hadi’s appointment mirrors that of Home Minister Tito Karnavian, who was brought in after retiring as National Police chief early on in Jokowi’s second term.
