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Moeldoko sends condolences on Rizal Ramli's passing
Rizal, a former minister who served in two post-Reform administrations, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta on Tuesday night.
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Former coordinating minister for maritime affairs Rizal Ramli. (The Jakarta Post/wienda parwitasari)
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senior official at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday expressed condolences on the death of former trade minister and fierce government critic Rizal Ramli.
Rizal, a former minister who served in two post-Reform administrations, died after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital in Central Jakarta on Tuesday night.
Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko expressed sympathy on the passing of Rizal and described the former minister as "a close friend".
"Personally I want to express my deepest condolences on the passing of my close friend Bapak Rizal Ramli. May heaven open for him," Moeldoko said in a statement quoted by Antara.
Moeldoko praised Rizal as his partner in discussion and despite his scathing views on the incumbent government, he regarded his ideas as constructive.
"He was always critical but I considered that healthy," Moeldoko said.
Rizal briefly served under the first administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo from August 2015 to July 2016, before being sacked for his penchant for issuing controversial statements directed toward fellow cabinet members.
In recent years, Rizal had branded himself as a fierce critic of President Jokowi's administration, believing him to be too close to China and deeming him responsible for rampant corruption and economic mismanagement.
He made a scathing criticism of Jokowi's efforts to build a political dynasty in the wake of the Constitutional Court decision to change the Elections Law to allow for his son Gibran Rakabuming Raka to run as vice presidential candidate alongside Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.
"They're toying with the Republic. Indonesia is not an experiment," Rizal said in one of his last interviews in late December last year.
