Only God And Jokowi Know About The Cabinet Reshuffle

President Joko Widodo (Photo: Cabinet Secretariat of the Republic of Indonesia)

JAKARTA - Spokesperson for President Joko Widodo (Jokowi), Fadjroel Rachman, spoke about the issue of reshuffling or re-shaking the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet.

According to him, until now there has been no statement conveyed by President Jokowi that he will conduct a reshuffle.

"Actually, until now President Joko Widodo has never stated that he will conduct a reshuffle to the public. If a reshuffle is necessary, the president himself will announce and convey it to the public, such as the 22 December 2020 reshuffle at the Merdeka Palace", said Fadjroel in a written statement to journalists, Tuesday, April 27th.

He also said that neither party actually knew when the reshuffle would be carried out. "In the people's language, only President Jokowi and God Almighty know when, who will hold the ministerial positions", he said.

Fadjroel said there was indeed a merger of the Ministry of Research and Technology (Kemenristek) with the Ministry of Education and Culture (Kemendikbud), as well as the addition of the Ministry of Investment. He explained that the formation of a new ministry such as the Ministry of Investment was confirmed to have been based on various considerations.

The considerations are for efficiency and effectiveness, the scope of duties and proportionality of workloads, continuity, harmony, and integration of task implementation, as well as developments in the global environment.

Meanwhile, related consolidation is carried out by considering the development of the needs and aspirations of the community as well as for efficiency and effectiveness as well as changes and/or development of tasks and functions, increasing the performance and workload of the government as well as the need for handling certain affairs in government independently.

Even so, it is not yet known who will lead the two new ministries. Because Fadjroel emphasized that the reshuffle or re-shake of the cabinet is the right of President Jokowi.

"Who will hold ministerial positions, at least in the two new ministries (not yet known, red). Or in the legal language, a reshuffle is the prerogative of the president", said Fadjroel.

As previously reported, the reshuffle issue became hotly discussed after the Presidential Staff Office Expert, Ali Mochtar Ngabalin explained that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) would soon overhaul his cabinet, Tuesday, April 13.

"The President, God willing, will inaugurate a new minister. (1) Minister of Education and Technology (2) Minister of Investment/Head of BKPM. Are there any other ministers who will be inaugurated, when, and who are they? Only God and the President himself know, it is the prerogative of the President and us, just wait", wrote Ali Ngabalin on Twitter @AliNgabalinNew, Wednesday, April 15.

VOI editorial team confirmed, Ngabalin confirmed that President Jokowi was ready to replace the 3 ministers. Among them are Minister of Education and Culture (Mendikbud) Nadiem Makarim, Minister of Research and Technology/National Agency for Research and Innovation Bambang Brodjonegoro, and Head of Capital Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Bahlil Lahadalia.

However, Ngabalin asked the public to wait for President Jokowi's official decision in the near future. "We'll wait for this week or maybe next week because usually, the president is not slow in making decisions, especially when the ministers have said goodbye", he said.