In a swearing-in ceremony at the State Palace on Wednesday, the President named retired three-star Army general Djamari Chaniago, a politician of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party, the new coordinating politics and security minister, ending a week of speculations over who would fill the most senior post in the security portfolio.

The appointment followed Prabowo’s decision last week to remove Budi Gunawan over his alleged failure to control the riots and violence that erupted in multiple cities in late August, which followed the wave of protests fueled by dissatisfaction of the government’s handling of the economy.

Budi is also associated with Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairwoman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the sole de facto opposition party outside Prabowo’s coalition.

In total, two ministers and a Palace official either changed jobs or were appointed to second jobs, eight new names entered the government and three others were cut in the cabinet reshuffle on Monday, the second in about a week.

Among those removed was Presidential Communications Office (PCO) head Hasan Nasbi, known to be an ally of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. The office was also rebranded as the Government Communications Office (GCO) and had its role expanded to handle public messaging across ministries and regional administrations.

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Despite holding the key position in Prabowo’s communications team, Hasan is seen as having limited access to Prabowo, being rarely involved in cabinet meetings and remaining outside the President’s inner circle, a gap that analysts link to the office’s public communication missteps and recent lack of involvement in responding to crisis.

Read also: Calls mount for Prabowo to improve communication team, style

Hasan was replaced by First Deputy Communications and Digital Minister Angga Raka Prabowo, a politician of Gerindra and one of the President’s key campaigners in last year’s election. Angga also keeps his deputy ministerial job.

“After the evaluation, we saw the need for improvements in communication, not only representing the President, but also coordinating government communication more broadly,” State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi said when asked about the rebranding of the PCO and the change in its leadership.

Angga, meanwhile, said the change was intended to prevent conflicting public messaging from across ministries.

“This aligns with my current role as first deputy communications minister. The goal is to ensure that the President’s programs and policies are communicated clearly to the public, while also serving as a bridge to listen to public voices,” Angga said.

Read also: Sri Mulyani left cabinet after weeklong unrest in Indonesia

Among the new faces in the government is retired police general Ahmad Dofiri, who was named special presidential adviser for public order and safety and police reform in the wake of growing calls for reform following police brutality when handling the protests.

Prabowo also expanded the structure of the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), which oversees his flagship free nutritious meal program, by appointing two new deputy heads.

Rebalancing

The Wednesday reshuffle reflected both political rebalancing in Prabowo’s cabinet and his attempt to handle growing public dissatisfaction of his young administration, analyst Agung Baskoro from Trias Politika Strategis said. 

Noting how trusted allies are being appointed to strategic posts, such as the coordinating security minister and the government spokesperson, Agung said the reshuffle signaled the growing role of “Hambalang circle”, which refers to Prabowo’s inner circle of loyalists and allies, in his administration.

“With Prabowo’s trusted aides taking on the two roles, the hope is that any public protests in the future could be handled more effectively, and the way Prabowo’s administration addresses any criticism or controversy could be handled more quickly and clearly,” Agung said.

Arya Fernandes from the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said the shake-up reflected Prabowo’s intention to assert authority by showcasing his ability to evaluate and replace ministers whenever necessary.

“This is to ensure that there is no irregular behavior [from cabinet members] that could trigger a crisis or instability,” Arya said. “The reshuffle was a response to the current domestic situation and to rebuild public trust in his government.”

Read also: BREAKING: Prabowo reshuffles his cabinet again

The shake-up also showed that Prabowo sought to balance demands from political parties in his ruling coalition while ensuring that loyal figures occupy strategic positions.

“Prabowo is aware he is surrounded by various political parties and is caught in the dilemma of a complex multiparty system, which requires him to accommodate many party interests in the cabinet,” Arya said.

“At the same time, he has a strategic interest in filling key ministerial positions with figures from his inner political circle – individuals who have had both personal and institutional ties with him.”

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