Jokowi previously mentioned that he wanted individuals who had strong capability to carry out the government’s programs as well as great managerial skills and integrity to fill the ministerial posts during the second term of his administration.

The former Jakarta governor, who is set to be inaugurated on Oct. 20, has also brushed aside the dichotomy between politician and non-politician when recruiting Cabinet members. “What matters is that they have the capability [to work well],” he said recently.

Several names have been making the rounds as potential new ministers, a mixture of old hands, up-and-coming politicos and independent professionals.

Fresh off his victory at the Constitutional Court, Yusril Ihza Mahendra is among those being mooted for a Cabinet position.

Yusril, the chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB), joined the Jokowi coalition at the eleventh hour and headed the Jokowi camp’s legal team during the recent presidential election court dispute.

He also has plenty of previous experience, having served in the Cabinets of the previous three presidents — as justice minister under Abdurrahman Wahid and Megawati Soekarnoputri and as state secretary under Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

The current law and human rights minister, Yasonna Laoly, won a seat in the House of Representatives in the recent legislative elections, potentially leaving his seat vacant.

On the sidelines of a plenary meeting at the General Elections Commission (KPU) on Sunday, Yusril said there had not been any discussion yet about his nomination as a prospective Cabinet member. However, he indicated that he would consider taking the justice minister spot.

“I would rather just be a lawyer,” he said. “But if I have to join the government, of course I know exactly the constitutional, legal and human rights problems that have to be resolved.”

Yusril and members of the legal team as well as some campaign team executives held a meeting with Jokowi at Bogor Palace on Monday evening, but Yusril denied that it had anything to do with the Cabinet.

“It is only a silaturahmi [friendly gathering] and a consultation to follow up the Constitutional Court’s ruling,” Yusril said, referring to the court’s decision to reject losing candidate Prabowo Subianto’s legal challenge against Jokowi’s electoral victory.

On a number of occasions, Jokowi has also said he is open to the possibility of appointing relatively young figures to his Cabinet in his second term, and political parties in his coalition have also supported the incumbent’s idea.

United Development Party (PPP) secretary-general Arsul Sani confirmed that Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin campaign team chairman Erick Thohir — a 49-year-old media tycoon and the man behind the widely praised Asian Games in Jakarta — was a possible candidate.

However, Erick, who was a reluctant recruit to the campaign team chairman position, has repeatedly expressed his lack of interest in becoming a minister, preferring to focus on his business interests instead.

“I am looking forward to returning to the real world,” he said in a press briefing before the election.

Speculation is also rife that should discussions go well between the Democratic Party and the ruling coalition regarding the possibility of the former joining the latter, Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono — the eldest son of Dems patron Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono — might be able to obtain a seat in Jokowi’s future Cabinet.

NasDem Party secretary-general Johnny G. Plate said the ruling coalition was open for the Dems and the National Mandate Party (PAN) — both of which previously backed Prabowo’s candidacy — to join the camp. However, he said the two parties had to prove they had a long-term commitment to support Jokowi’s administration.

Jakarta-based pollster Populi Center director Usep S. Ahyar said Jokowi would have more leeway in appointing professional and nonpartisan figures to his Cabinet than he did at the beginning of his first term, but only to a point.

“Like it or not, President Jokowi will have to accommodate the various political interests that have backed him,” Usep said. “The Cabinet cannot be separated from politics completely — at the very least they will still have to work with the House to enact their policies.”

Usep added that Yusril, Erick and Agus all had a good chance of making it into the Cabinet.

“They all have their own skills and they can all play a part in political consolidation, particularly Agus who is a potential successor to SBY as head of the Democratic Party,” he said.

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