Rather Than Worrying About Finding A Replacement For Edhy Prabowo At The KKP, Observers Suggest That Jokowi Choose Susi Pudjiastuti

Former Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Susi Pudjiastuti. (Photo: KKP)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has not appointed a new Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to replace Edhy Prabowo. Currently, the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, is acting as Minister of KKP Ad Interim.

Political observers from the Indonesia Political Opinion stated that politically the President should not reinstate Gerindra cadres in the KKP. According to him, this is to avoid potential abuse of power related to efforts to eradicate corruption in the KKP.

"The easiest way to choose is to recall Susi Pudjiastuti," Dedi told VOI, Saturday, November 28.

According to Dedi, Jokowi will get positive sentiment if he hooks Susi Pudjiastuti back to become Minister of KKP. However, it cannot be denied that other political parties will intervene.

"This is where Jokowi's sovereignty is at stake," he said.

Dedi viewed that it would be better for Jokowi to choose a Minister of KKP from a professional circle. Dedi said, this might again stretch the post-2019 presidential election reconciliation between Jokowi and Prabowo.

However, if he re-chooses from the Gerindra cadre, there is an unfavorable view due to the corruption of Edhy who was a Gerindra cadre when he was Minister of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Previously, the chairman of the Gerindra Party, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, said that his party fully handed over to President Joko Widodo to replace Edhy Prabowo as Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

However, until now, President Joko Widodo has not yet spoken out about changing the position of Minister of Marine Affairs and Fisheries since Edhy declared that he was resigning as a suspect at the KPK.

"We accept Pak Edhy Prabowo's resignation. As a minister, (the decision to replace Edhy, red) is the president's prerogative," said Dasco, Thursday, November 26.

Dasco admitted that the Gerindra Party did not want to interfere with Jokowi's decisions regarding the election in the Forward Indonesia Cabinet. Moreover, said Dasco, Jokowi had not yet conveyed whether the new KKP ministerial candidate was re-elected from the Gerindra Party or other parties.