TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo is planning to announce the reshuffling of the Working Cabinet today. Golkar and PAN parties, which support the Jokowi-Kalla government, will have at least one ministerial seat each.
Airlangga Hartarto, a Golkar politician who is also active in KADIN, reportedly that he will get the seat of the Industry Minister. Airlangga will replace Saleh Husin who is from the Hanura party. Meanwhile, PAN politician Asman Abnur will replace Yuddy Chrisnandi as the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reforms.
When Tempo tried to confirm the news to Airlangga, he briefly answered, "Bismillah Allahu Akbar (In the name of God, God the Almighty)," Wednesday, July 27, 2016. As for Asman, he could not be reached until now.
The selection process of the two ministerial candidates from Golkar and PAN parties had been running for quite some time actually. In an exclusive interview with Tempo Magazine last May, Golkar chairman Setya Novanto said that he had prepared a list of names if the President ask Golkar members to join the Working cabinet.
Among the names in Setya Novanto`s list are Airlangga Hartanto, Idrus Marham, and Siswono Yudho Husodo. The name of Sharif Cicip Sutardjo also once listed in the list. Previously, Siswono was heard to be the one who will replace Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman in the Working Cabinet.
Same with the "selection" process of the ministerial candidates from the PAN party. Bara HAsibuan, a PAN politician said that the process have been going eight months now. In the last meeting between President Jokowi and PAN chairman Zulkifli Hasan three months ago, there were three names given by PAN, which were Didiek J. Rachbini, Taufik Kurniawan, and Asman Abnur. Jokowi then chose Asman. "We hand it to the President on the matter of the cabinet reshuffling," said Hasibuan.
ANANDA TERESIA
