Bahlil Denies There Is A Divide Between Ministers In Jokowi's Cabinet

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JAKARTA - The Minister of Investment/Head of the Investment Coordinating Board, Bahlil Lahadalia, said that the cabinet ranks of President Joko Widodo or Jokowi were not divided and continued to work professionally.

He said this when responding to the issue of rifts in the cabinet due to differences in political attitudes during the general election.

"We all work professionally in the cabinet and no one says that it is cracked. Our spiritual atmosphere is just fun," said Bahlil when met at the private home of the presidential candidate, Prabowo Subianto, on Jalan Kartanegara, South Jakarta, Sunday.

According to Bahlil, the professionalism between ministers in the cabinet continues to be maintained even though there are several figures who have resigned from their state positions.

The latest is the resignation of the candidate for vice president number 03, Mahfud MD, from the position of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Human Rights (Menkopolhukam) due to political choices.

According to him, it is Mahfud's political right that must be respected by all parties. In addition, he assessed that the action to withdraw from the cabinet ranks was not new so it would not affect the government's performance.

"The resignation of the cabinet is normal, not extraordinary. It is a political right that must be respected and thank God Pak Jokowi and Mahfud are fine," he said.

The General Election Commission has determined three participants in the 2024 presidential election, namely the Anies Baswedan-Muhaimin Iskandar pair number 1, Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka number 2, and Ganjar Pranowo-Mahfud number 3.

The 2024 election campaign period will take place from November 28, 2023 to February 10, 2024. After the campaign period, there will be a calm period on February 11-13. Then, the voting schedule takes place simultaneously on February 14, 2024.