President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s directive for his ministers in the first plenary Cabinet meeting held only hours after he announced his reshuffle on Wednesday was clear: Work in synergy and avoid conflicting statements regarding the government’s development agenda.

Previously, former and current Cabinet members had been involved in disagreements that had confused investors and the wider public.

For instance, former coordinating maritime affairs minister Rizal Ramli — who had been known as a staunch critic of the government — and former energy and mineral resources minister Sudirman Said were involved in public spats over the controversial gas-rich Masela block development plan and Jokowi’s ambitious 35,000 megawatt electricity-procurement agenda, before both were removed from their posts on Wednesday.

Wednesday’s reshuffle appeared to confirm that the various controversies surrounding the ministers were among the reasons behind the cull as Jokowi also removed Hanura Party politician Yuddy Chrisnandi from the administrative and bureaucratic reform post and Ignasius Jonan from the Transportation Ministry.

Yuddy’s statement that he would fire around 1 million civil servants across the country caused disquiet among the state bureaucracy forcing Jokowi to tone down the issue by saying that the downsizing plan aimed at improving the efficiency of government spending and would not be done all at once, but in stages.

Another controversy Yuddy sparked earlier this year was when he announced the result of his ministry’s assessment against the backdrop of growing speculation on a reshuffle. He was criticized for declaring his own ministry had received a good score, better than many other ministries.

Meanwhile, Jonan had been involved in apparent disagreements with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno over the country’s first high-speed railway project.

“No more pointing fingers at each other; if there is a flaw, it is in us all because we are one team,” Jokowi told his ministers on Wednesday, and later instructed his Cabinet members not to make any decision that would affect the general public before discussing it first in Cabinet.

Newly appointed energy minister Archandra Tahar, however, declined to make any comment regarding Jokowi’s first instruction in the meeting, giving only a thumbs up.

After the meeting, almost all of the Cabinet members exited the State Palace from a side gate in an apparent move to avoid curious journalists. No press conference was held after the meeting.

Some of the new ministers said before the meeting that their first step would be discussing their tasks with the former ministers they had replaced.

In his speech, Jokowi also instructed the ministers to take comprehensive measures should they face problems while handling a multisectoral development issue and demanded coordinating ministers work harder in communicating the roles of all ministers under them.

Presidential spokesman Johan Budi, who several times has reminded ministers not to make any conflicting public statements regarding the government’s agenda, said the reshuffle was indeed aimed at creating a better synergy among ministers, instead of simply accommodating the interests of political parties. “So [the Cabinet] has become more progressive and solid,” Johan said.

Earlier on Wednesday, while he was introducing his new ministers, Jokowi said the main reason behind the shake-up was to bring about more effective and faster teamwork as the country faced ever-more complex challenges, particularly in terms of the economy, poverty and unemployment.

Jokowi later instructed his ministers to focus on three issues, reducing food prices and boosting food supplies; reducing gaps between the rich and poor, as well as between regions across the country; and providing better jobs for the people.

The three problems were highlighted in a recent survey by Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC). Although Jokowi’s approval rating in his second year in office has improved from last year, the survey also found that the public had taken into account his administration’s lack of achievements in providing more affordable basic necessities, reducing the number of poor people and the unemployment rate, as well as in creating jobs.

“I realize the challenges we are facing are constantly changing and therefore it needs our fast decisions and actions,” Jokowi said. “Our actions should bring immediate effects to the people in the short and medium terms, as well as in the long run.”

By adding new ministers from the Golkar Party and The National Mandate Party (PAN), Jokowi is expected to achieve better political engagement in his administration. However, less is known to the general public about their performances.

Political observer Arie Sujito said, therefore, Jokowi was likely to find it harder to convince the public about his leadership abilities as reflected in his Cabinet.

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