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Prabowo consolidates power as presidency looms
More allies and figures close to Prabowo Subianto are receiving key positions in the current government weeks ahead of the president-elect's inauguration on Oct. 20, a move many see as a consolidation of power.
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Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto (second left) on Aug. 7, 2024, greets medical personnel of the Indonesian Military (TNI) who will depart for a humanitarian mission in the Middle East, during a briefing at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta. (Antara/Hafidz Mubarak A)
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resident-elect Prabowo Subianto has been steadily consolidating power ahead of his inauguration as the country’s next president, as the list of loyalists and political allies taking on key posts in the cabinet and state agencies grows months before he takes office.
Since his landslide victory in the February presidential election, Prabowo has been working to secure support in both the government and the House of Representatives to help him quickly execute his legislative agenda when his term starts on Oct. 20.
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who tacitly endorsed Prabowo in the election, has been helping to smooth the way for his successor with a series of cabinet reshuffles that saw members of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party and his inner circle get key positions in the government.
One example is Prabowo’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono, who was appointed a deputy finance minister in July. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati previously signaled that Thomas would likely remain in the ministry under Prabowo’s administration in a meeting at the House.
An ally of both Jokowi and Prabowo, Bahlil Lahadalia, who previously served as the investment minister, was appointed to the energy and mineral resources ministerial post on Aug. 19. Former Indonesian ambassador to the United States Rosan Roeslani, who helmed Prabowo’s campaign team, succeeded Bahlil in the Investment Ministry.
Another Gerindra politician receiving a key position in the cabinet is Supratman Andi Agtas. The former deputy chair of House legislation body (Baleg) was named law and human rights minister, replacing Yasonna Laoly, an Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician.
