TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The replacement of several cabinet members last week was simply an attempt made by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) to strengthen his political position. Clearly, the President gave greater priority to power balance in choosing his new assistants.
Performance considerations were not apparent in the appointment of Idrus Marham as social affairs minister as well as Gen. (ret) Moeldoko as chief of the Presidential Staff and Gen. (ret) Agum Gumelar as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council. The selection of Idrus has also increased the portion of the Golkar Party which in the 2014 presidential elections supported Jokowis rival Prabowo Subianto in the cabinet. Idrus succeeded Khofifah Indar Parawansa, who had resigned to run for governor of East Java.
The composition of cabinet members has removed Jokowi even further away from his pledge to form a cabinet that is professional, focused on duties and made up of non-partisans. Golkar has now positioned its two top executives, General Chair Airlangga Hartato as industry minister and Secretary-General Idrus Marham, in the cabinet.
Political power considerations were noticeable in this case. Jokowi was seen as trying to get closer to the banyan-tree party, which had declared its support for him in 2019 since Setya Novanto's leadership. It is likely that Jokowi now relies on Golkar so as not to depend too much on Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) General Chair Megawati Sukarnoputri. With both top leaders in his hands, Jokowi will find it easy to control Golkar.
Jokowi can avoid the above accusations only if he orders Airlangga and Idrus to withdraw from the Golkar leadership. By doing this, he will be consistent with his statement that ministers must not serve as party executives at the same time. While campaigning in 2014, he had said: "Even holding one position can meet with failure, let alone two."
This balancing politics was also felt in the appointment of Moeldoko, the former Indonesian Military (TNI) commander, and Agum Gumelar. The two retired generals were named in order to balance the influence of his main rival, Prabowo Subianto, and former TNI commander Gen. (ret) Gatot Nurmantyo.
The main functions of the Presidential Staff Office and the Presidential Advisory Council are fairly strategic. Both non-structural institutions are, among others, tasked with assisting the President in finding breakthroughs to overcome impediments to the government. One can imagine that until next years elections, his officials will be more engaged in handling presidential political interests.
As president, Jokowi indeed has the prerogative to choose his ministers and assistants. But he should also keep the promise to his voters to establish a professional cabinet, as the campaign pledge translates into a presidential political contract with his constituents.
The presidents prerogative also bears the responsibility to execute appropriate government duties. The public wants an efficient cabinet, with ministers who are working with national considerations and the public in mind, and are not too much burdened with the interests of winning the presidential contest.
It is such considerations that should base President Jokowi's selection of cabinet members. It should not be based on political balance for the sake of short-term interests.
Read the full article in this week's edition of Tempo English Magazine
