TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo was still tight-lipped when asked about the cabinet reshuffle after confirming its possibility last Friday. Tempo tried to ask for confirmation on this issue.

To the first question, the President only reacted with a smile. He also did the same response to the second one. “Yes, I heard,” he said while smiling at Manggarai Station, South Jakarta, today, December 26, 2022.

Yet to the third question about the certainty of a reshuffle, he just nodded. He also just smiled when asked about the insistence of his party, PDIP, to evaluate the performance of two ministers from NasDem Party, namely Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya and Minister of Agriculture Syahrul Yasin Limpo.

When asked about signs for the minister to be replaced, he made an okay hand sign.

On Friday, December 23, 2022, Jokowi confirmed the possibility of shaking up ministers in the Indonesia Onward Cabinet following the survey results of Charta Politika Indonesia in which the majority of the respondents agreed with the cabinet reshuffle.

“[A reshuffle] is possible,” he said briefly when met in Bogor Regency, West Java, Friday. He stopped short of providing the reason and the time it would be carried out.

A number of ministers were predicted to run for the 2024 presidential election. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto will likely be endorsed by his party, Gerindra, as a presidential candidate. Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto may be nominated by his party, Golkar, as a presidential candidate.

Additionally, SOE Minister Erick Thohir and Tourism and Creative Economy Minister Sandiaga Uno are reportedly hunting for vice presidential candidate seats.

However, the pressure for the three ministers to quit the cabinet was not as loud as the pressure for NasDem to leave the governing coalition after the party led by Surya Paloh declared opposition Anies Baswedan as its presidential candidate.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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