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Jokowi considers Cabinet reshuffle as PDI-P puts further pressure on NasDem
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (fourth left) and other prominent ruling coalition members walk to the site of the inauguration of new Cabinet ministers on June 15. (Biro Pers dan Sekretariat Presiden/Laily Rachev)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has left the door open for a Cabinet reshuffle, fueling rumors that ministers from the pro-government NasDem Party – which has thrown its weight behind opposition figurehead Anies Baswedan – will be on the chopping block, an idea that the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has supported.
“[A reshuffle] is possible. We’ll see," Jokowi said in Bogor, West Java, on Friday in response to questions from the press about whether he would shake up his Cabinet following a recent public opinion poll.
The poll in question was published on Friday by Charta Politika and found that while 60.5 percent of respondents approved of the current Cabinet’s performance, 61.8 percent agreed with the idea of a reshuffle.
PDI-P central executive board member Djarot Saiful Hidayat has also expressed his support for such a move, specifically blaming Agriculture Minister Syahrul Yasin Limpo and Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar for failing to maintain Indonesia’s self-sufficiency in rice.
“It turns out we had to import rice as soon as the price started to rise. [...] Jokowi has to evaluate the ministers’ performance and see if they’re capable of achieving his programs as Jokowi approaches the end of his term," Djarot said, as quoted by Kompas.
But political analyst Bawono Kumoro of Indikator Politik suggested that political motives, rather than performance concerns, were behind Djarot’s comments.
“If we look at the statements from within the government coalition, especially from the PDI-P, there’s been pressure directed at NasDem. [...] Now that Jokowi has hinted at the idea of a reshuffle, the PDI-P is again fueling the fire by naming the two ministers that happen to be from NasDem," Bawono said.
