TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo's plan for an imminent cabinet reshuffle is the most logical option, given that several polls had shown the people's dissatisfaction with the government's performance. Most people believe that legal issues and the economy two aspects that impact directly on people's lives have been badly managed.
Right from the start of the presidency, Jokowi had ordered his ministers to follow his vision and mission, notwithstanding their own respective view of the world. This instruction was seen as a desire by the president to ensure his ministers' complete loyalty. In his view, the cabinet members are extensions of his arms, or executors of the technicalities of his policies. Through this order, the president underlined the importance of integration in governance.
Eight months later, his hopes were far from being realized. There are at least three reasons for this situation. First, several ministers were shown to be incompetent. They turned out to be the wrong people in the wrong place. A few of them come from academic backgrounds that do not match the requirements of their responsibilities.
Secondly, several ministers may have the right skills for their jobs, but they do not always follow the policies laid down by the president, because they feel they have political support. It's been proven that with regard to several policies, the president not only failed to win the support of his coalition parties, but even of his own party. Thirdly, it may be entirely possible that something is wrong with the president's vision and mission.
The government can immediately look for solutions to the first and second problems. Ministers who lack competence, or who do not follow the presidential line, should be replaced. Jokowi has already drawn up a chart of ministerial performance. Ministers have been graded red, yellow or green. President Jokowi should not hesitate to replace the ministers with red reports. He has often said thousands would line up to be ministers.
There should be no problem accommodating demands by the supporting political parties to increase their representation in cabinet. But the president must not ignore the important criteria of capacity and capability when choosing his aides. Most importantly, threats to withdraw support from the coalition should not cause concern. The past has taught us that this kind of pressure is nothing more than an empty threat. No political party has ever withdrawn its ministers from the cabinet. Perhaps the political parties' threats are nothing more than loud assertiveness to maintain their image.
The government should also not hesitate to review, if necessary, its vision and mission. Its Nawacita (nine hopes) Vision, which is a continuation of the Trisakti (three powers) ideology outlined by President Sukarno in a speech on August 17, 1964, represents its core ideals. There is nothing wrong with the desire to achieve the goal of sovereignty amid global politics, economic self-sufficiency and cultural independence.
But wold political and economic conditions have changed considerably. The objective of economic self-sufficiency, which in Nawacita appears as, "bringing about economic independence by mobilizing strategic domestic economic sectors" must be carried out while taking into account the current global economic context. The desire to maximize the nation's economic potential, evident in the price increase of domestic rice, cannot be implemented by closing the door to rice imports. This has resulted in rice prices remaining high.
On several occasions, President Jokowi emphasized his plans to mobilize state-owned enterprises to resolve economic problems, for example by increasing the yields of commodity crops. This is not a bad idea. A consortium of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) built the Bali Manadar toll road with its own funds, without using a cent of the State Budget. But if Jokowi plans to mobilize SOE funds to bring about economic independence, he should reconsider. Besides adding to the budget deficit, this move could put an end to private participation. Given current conditions, the government should encourage wider participation from the domestic and overseas private sector.
In this context, it is imperative that the Jokowi administration resolve the chaos revolving around this sector. For example, the overlapping authority of the coordinating minister for maritime affairs and the coordinating minister for economic affairs must be immediately resolved. On the ground, the almost identical tasks and responsibilities of the two coordinating ministries have made it difficult for them to do their jobs.
A cabinet reshuffle may be one way of resolving those problems. But it is more important to realign the vision to the demands of changing times. (*)
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