Presidential Special Staff Denies Rumor Regarding Comm. Minister Appointment as Ad Interim Foreign Affairs Minister

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Presidential Special Staff Coordinator, Ari Dwipayana, denied the rumor regarding appointment of Communication and Informatics Minister, Budi Arie Setiadi, as ad interim Foreign Affairs Minister, was related to Retno Marsudi's resignation from the cabinet.

"Ministers who are said to have resigned are focused on working. Minister Hadimuljono is accompanying the president today. Minister Marsudi and Minister Sumadi are working as well," Dwipayana confirmed at the State Secretariat Building in Jakarta on Monday.

He explained that the appointment of ad interim ministers is a usual mechanism applied when one of the ministers goes on a working visit abroad.

Earlier, Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian was also appointed as interim Minister of Foreign Affairs when Marsudi headed on an official trip to four African countries in August 2023, he highlighted.

He explained that when a minister is on an official trip abroad, the temporary official to take up the position as a replacement must be holding a post at the same level as the minister.

"It has to be at the ministerial level," he noted.

As is known, Foreign Minister Marsudi is on an official trip to New York, the United States, to attend a UN Security Council meeting regarding the current situation in the Middle East, including the Palestine issue.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) then appointed Minister Setiadi as Ad Interim Minister of Foreign Affairs when Marsudi had left on January 21 to 22, 2024.

According to Dwipayana, the narrative stating that some ministers from the Indonesia Onward Cabinet plan to resign cannot be proven since they are still carrying out their respective duties.

"The issue was wrong, as it never happened. All ministers are working on their post to fulfill their respective duties," he stated.

Earlier, he also confirmed that all ministers in the cabinet would remain solid in assisting President Jokowi in running the government until the end of his term of office.

"All ministers in the cabinet remain united and solid in helping the president to lead the administration of the government until the end of his term of office," he said on January 18.

ANTARA

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