Jokowi Says He Will Maintain Current Ministers in Second Term

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo or Jokowi said he will maintain a number of ministers in the current cabinet for his second administration term.

“[I’ll keep] many [of the ministers],” he shortly said after opening the 2019 Karya Kreatif Indonesia in Jakarta Convention Center (JCC), Friday, July 12.

However, the President was non-committal to detail the names, adding that he was still reviewing the structure.

The former governor of Jakarta explained that several factors were put into consideration in maintaining the ministers for the next administration; including legal issue.

When asked about the possibility to rehire ministers currently involved in an alleged corruption case, the President gave a diplomatic answer. “We’ll see about it later. We consider all factors,” he said.

At present, there are three ministers suspected to be involved in corruption or bribery case, namely Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita, and Youth and Sports Minister Imam Nahrawi.

Jokowi also said that he is seeking ministers from the millennial generation and demanding political parties supporting him to propose candidate names.

“I also ask parties for young ministers and professional ones as well. If there is none from the parties, we’ll find them ourselves. There are many young professionals now,” he concluded.

AHMAD FAIZ IBNU SANI