The Figure Of The Minister Of SOEs In Prabowo's Cabinet Must Have A Large-Scale Business Management Experience

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi)'s leadership period is less than two weeks away.

Along with that, the positions of ministers in the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet also ended, including the Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

Then, who is the right person to serve as Minister of SOEs for the period 2024-2029?

BUMN observer from the University of Indonesia, Toto Pranoto, said that he needed a professional figure to serve as Minister of SOEs.

This figure must also have experience managing companies on a large scale.

Moreover, there has also been a discourse on the abolition of the Ministry of SOEs into Super Holding state-owned companies in the era of the elected presidential government Prabowo Subianto.

"If for example later this agency will be directed to become an institution like that (Super Holding) such as Temasek or Khazanah, it is characteristic that they are managed by professionals," Toto said when met in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 8.

"So it should also be in my opinion that the one who will manage this agency later is an element that indeed represents business professionals who already have experience in managing large-scale businesses," he continued.

According to Toto, if the position of the Minister of SOEs or the Head of the Agency is filled with the right person, then the competitiveness of state-owned companies can be more competitive in the future.

"It doesn't really have to be from BUMN (Head of Agency) but from companies that are considered quite large, who have a good track record how they can then bring the company to become a player both nationally, regionally, or even a global scale," he said.

Previously, it was reported that the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) in the era of the elected presidential government, Prabowo Subianto, was rumored to be changing the concept to a super holding which would later be led by the head of the agency.

BUMN observer from the University of Indonesia, Toto Pranoto, said that the idea of a Super Holding BUMN was actually an old concept. He explained that this concept was first initiated by the State Minister for the Empowerment of SOEs in the era of Tanri Abeng.

In that era, continued Toto, the concept of the Super Holding BUMN has been announced. Then this idea was passed on by the Minister of SOEs during the government era of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), for the Rini Soemarno period.

"Actually, I don't think this Super Holding idea is too new, because in the document related to the BUMN master plan in the era of Pak Tanri Abeng in 1999, the nomenclature is also the Ministry of SOEs/Heads of the Agency," Toto said when met in Jakarta, Tuesday, October 8.

Toto explained, Super Holding is the parent who oversees several holding companies that are in the same group.

He said this concept had been applied in countries such as Temasek (Singapore) and Khazanah (Malaysia).

Furthermore, he said, the main goal of this Super Holding as a shareholder in several company holdings, with the aim of increasing the company's performance and enabling the creation of market value.

"So if now, for example, Prabowo's elected presidential government will revive this agency's function, I think the goal is in the context of actually how to improve the competitiveness of SOEs," he explained.