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Cabinet shake-up on table amid graft, virus failures
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is more inclined to reshuffle his Cabinet – a threat he has conveyed to his ministers since June – following his administration’s lackluster pandemic response.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right) and his ministers hold a Cabinet meeting at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Aug 3. (Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/via kompas.com)
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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo may now be more inclined to reshuffle his Cabinet – a threat he has been using to spur ministers into action since late June – following his administration’s lackluster pandemic response and the arrest of two of his ministers, experts have said.
Both Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Edhy Prabowo of the Gerindra Party and Social Affairs Minister Juliari Batubara of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) were recently arrested on corruption charges.
A new Cabinet may allow a fresh start as the government seeks to begin mass vaccination next year.
"Pandemic recovery – both in terms of public health and the economy – will take priority over everything else," Paramadina University political scientist Djayadi Hanan said.
In late June, Jokowi warned his ministers that he would take “extraordinary steps”, including a shake-up, if they failed to take the COVID-19 crisis seriously.
Read also: Coalition parties mull Jokowi’s reshuffle threat
Last month, in an interview with Kompas TV, Jokowi said he would reshape his Cabinet whenever necessary. “It could happen next week, next month or next year,” he said.
