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Coalition divided over Jokowi’s latest Cabinet shake-up
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo (right) inaugurates Budi Arie Setiadi (left) as communications and information minister at the State Palace in Jakarta on July 17, 2023. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A.)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s recent Cabinet reshuffle, which saw his loyalists obtain ministerial posts, has had a mixed reception in his big-tent coalition, with the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) backing the decision but the embattled NasDem Party responding with criticism.
Ending months of speculation, President Jokowi shook up his Cabinet on Monday, awarding long-time loyalists ministerial positions, including Budi Arie Setiadi, who was made the new communications and information minister. He was promoted from his previous post as deputy minister for villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration.
Budi is the leader one of Jokowi’s most prominent volunteer groups, Projo, which was pivotal in both his 2014 and 2019 electoral victories.
Budi filled the vacancy left by NasDem politician Johnny G. Plate, who was ousted from Cabinet in May after being named a suspect in a large-scale graft case related to the procurement of telecommunications infrastructure.
As part of the shake-up, businessman Rosan P. Roeslani was named deputy state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister and Paiman Raharjo was appointed deputy villages, disadvantaged regions and transmigration minister on Monday. Both were members of Jokowi’s 2019 reelection campaign team.
Read also: Jokowi installs more loyalists in Cabinet shake-up
Some observers took the appointments as a signal of Jokowi’s support for the presidential bid of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto over his own party’s own candidate, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo, as a number of the new ministers have close connections to the Gerindra Party leader.
