Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s new president, comes at a historic turn in the country. He was inaugurated as its eighth president on Sunday and is a politician 73 years old, charged with allegations over human rights abuses for decades. The change ends the decade with the outgoing president, Joko Widodo, known simply as Jokowi, who presided over the country when it experienced considerable economic boom and infrastructural growth during his tenure.
Prabowo won the post by polling more than 58% of the votes cast during elections in February, outshining two opponents. Prabowo and his running mate, Jokowi’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, were inaugurated on different occasions.
Over 30 leaders attended the inauguration,
Including regional and international leaders British Foreign Minister David Lammy, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, among many others.
A major overhaul, Prabowo announced that a cabinet made of 48 ministers and 58 vice-ministers will be established, much bigger than the cabinet of Jokowi who already has 34 ministers and 30 vice-ministers. The new cabinet was officially sworn in on Monday.
Observers point out that the appointments of 17 ministers
From Jokowi’s administration could be regarded as a “political reward” for support by Jokowi during Prabowo’s campaign. Key figures such as Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto are kept in their posts.
Public policy scholar Lina Miftahul Jannah bemoaned that a “bloated cabinet” would most likely complicate the bureaucratic process and make the bureaucracy arrive later in decisions. “Reorganizing the different ministries will cost much in terms of finances, but also much energy,” she said.
Political analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi
Said that the composition of the cabinet lineup shows a predisposition toward continuity policy, for Prabowo wanted to continue with the agenda initiated by President Jokowi. “He doesn’t want to take further risks, and that is why he opted for key figures from the Jokowi administration,” said Muhtadi.
A free nation is where the people are free from fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, oppression, and suffering, he declared with passion in his inauguration address in pledging himself to cleanliness and poverty eradication while assuring as a president for all Indonesians.
On the foreign policy side, Prabowo restated Indonesia’s long-held non-alignment policy, fighting for the oppressed everywhere. “We will oppose all colonialism and represent the interests of those in a state of need,” he confirmed. The new cabinet will have to bond over each other as Prabowo’s cabinet will have an institutional bonding retreat at a military academy in Central Java for three days, he indicated, oriented on building camaraderie and aligning members to his vision.
For Prabowo, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and next month’s G20 Summit will be his first forays into the international scene as Indonesia’s president.