President Subianto constitutes Indonesia’s largest-ever Cabinet with 109 members | Read
Jakarta: Newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto announced Indonesia’s largest-ever Cabinet on Sunday (October 20, 2024), with 109 members representing his pledge for a strong government.
He named his Cabinet of Ministers, Vice-Ministers and head of national agencies the “Red and White Cabinet”, referring to the colours of Indonesia’s flag.
Mr Subianto became the 8th President of Southeast Asia’s largest economy on Sunday (October 20, 2024). The Cabinet of Mr. Subianto’s predecessor Joko Widodo had 34 Ministers and heads of government agencies.
Mr Subianto has said earlier that he needs a strong administration, even though analysts said that his “fat” Cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy.
The Cabinet features politicians from a coalition of seven parties who supported his victory in the February election and figures allied with Mr Widodo’s Cabinet, who were reappointed to continue their jobs under Mr Subianto’s Presidency. Analysts said the move was a political reward to Mr. Widodo for the latter’s tacit support in the election.
Mr. Subianto was sworn in with his new Vice-President, 37-year-old Surakarta former Mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He chose Raka, who is Mr Widodo’s son, as his running mate, with Mr Widodo favouring Mr Subianto over the candidate of his own former party.
The former rivals became tacit allies, even though Indonesian Presidents don’t typically endorse candidates. Mr. Subianto was a longtime rival of Mr. Widodo, who ran against him for the Presidency twice and refused to accept his defeat on both occasions, in 2014 and 2019.
But Mr. Widodo appointed Mr. Subianto as defence chief after his reelection, paving the way for an alliance despite their rival political parties. During the campaign, Mr. Subianto ran as the popular outgoing President’s heir, vowing to continue signature policies such as the construction of a multibillion-dollar new capital city and limits on exporting raw materials intended to boost domestic industry.
Backed by Mr Widodo, Mr Subianto swept to a landslide victory in February’s direct Presidential election on promises of policy continuity. Mr. Subianto reappointed nearly half of Mr. Widodo’s Cabinet members, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, making her the first person to hold the Ministry under three different Presidents.
Ms. Indrawati (62), who has served as the executive director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank, is one of Indonesia’s longest-serving Finance Ministers, having held the post for long stretches under Presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Joko Widodo.
Other Ministers from Mr. Widodo’s Cabinet include Interior Minister Tito Karnavian, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan, Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir.
Mr Subianto has announced an ambitious goal of increasing annual economic growth to 8% by the end of his five-year term and embarking on an ambitious spending programme, including an increase in defence spending, hikes in civil servants’ salaries and a programme to give 83 million children free meals.
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