Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Mahfud MD said the matter was decided during the first plenary Cabinet meeting at the State Palace on Thursday. 

“President [Jokowi] said that coordinating ministers could veto ministers’ policies within [their] domain if [the ministers] took matters into their own hands, or indeed if [the ministers’ policies] contravened the President’s or other ministers’ policies,” said Mahfud. 

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto concurred with Mahfud’s statement, saying that such a move would streamline contradictory regulations at the ministerial or institutional level of the government. 

Jokowi previously issued Presidential Instruction No. 7/2017, which instructed ministers to consult with their respective coordinating ministers before taking decisions that are “strategic” or have “wide-ranging implications for the public”. 

Speaking during the Cabinet meeting, Jokowi emphasized that he preferred debates to be kept inside meetings, be they internal meetings or Cabinet meetings, rather than to be played out in public. 

“If [matters] have been decided in a meeting, do not debate it outside,” said Jokowi. “Please debate in the meeting. I will listen. But if things are already decided, we will implement them with all the risks [involved].”

He also called on Home Minister Tito Karnavian to identify regulations in regional governments, particularly at the municipal, regency and provincial level, regarded as overlapping with higher regulations and acting as hurdles to public services and investment. 

“We want to remove the obstructions so that we can work quickly,” Jokowi said.

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