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t appears that President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo could no longer avoid the pressure of having to make a quick decision regarding the career of controversial police general Com. Gen. Budi Gunawan.

It took Jokowi one year before he decided to name Budi the deputy national police chief after he declined to inaugurate him in the chief’s position in February 2015 over allegations that he was involved in a graft case.

Facing pressure for Budi to take over as National Police chief when Gen. Badrodin Haiti retired in July, Jokowi again resisted and instead appointed Budi’s junior, Gen. Tito Karnavian.

When Jokowi decided to undertake another Cabinet reshuffle in July, speculation was rife that Budi would be given a ministerial position, but the prediction did not come to pass.

Jokowi finally relented and on Friday he officially nominated the senior police general to head the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), replacing current BIN chief Sutiyoso.

State Secretary Pratikno on Friday submitted a letter from the President to the House of Representatives regarding the nomination of Budi to be BIN chief.

In his letter Jokowi claimed that the appointment of Budi was part of a regeneration of the intelligence agency, but many saw the decision as Jokowi finally caving into demands from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), which nominated him for the 2014 presidential election.

Budi has been known as a close associate of a former president, PDI-P chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri. Budi served as Megawati’s adjutant during her tenure as president from 2001 to 2004.

Political commentator Burhanuddin Muhtadi of Indikator Politik Indonesia (IPI) said that Jokowi finally made a decision to accommodate the interests of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).

“It is hard to deny that there was a compromise between the PDI-P and Jokowi in the nomination of BG to be BIN chief,” Burhanuddin said, referring to Budi by his initials.

Burhanuddin said that by giving Budi BIN’s chief position Jokowi was compensating the PDI-P for having repeatedly balked at the party’s proposals regarding the man.

He said that Jokowi bowed to the pressure after considering that BIN’s chief position carried minimum risk and less resistance from the public.

Iis Gindarsah, a researcher at the Department of Politics and International Relations of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said that politics played a large part in Jokowi’s decision to name Budi BIN chief.

“The BIN chief position is not a technocratic position, but a political one,” he said.

As the top BIN post was not a technocratic position, meaning that the selection does not depend primarily on competency and experience, Jokowi is expected to do thorough political calculations, which include accommodating a political party’s needs, Andi Widjajanto, a military observer told The Jakarta Post.

Many analysts have said Jokowi took a risky gamble.

Ray Rangkuti of the Lingkar Madani Foundation said the fact that Budi was a close associate of Megawati could render him beholden to the PDI-P chair, instead of Jokowi.

Martin Hutabarat, a member of the House of Representatives’ Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs from the Gerindra Party, said that Budi would enjoy smooth sailing through the House confirmation hearing.

“Usually, Commission I will not complicate the process of appointing the BIN chief. I predict that Budi Gunawan’s nomination will proceed smoothly,” he said. (win)