Political Compromise Overshadows Cabinet

Political compromise is feared to occur in the preparation of the Cabinet 2019-2024. In fact, the Cabinet needs professional figures who have the same vision as the President.

KOMPAS/NINA SUSILO

Vice President Jusuf Kalla (left, foreground) walks with vice president-elect Ma\'ruf Amin to perform Friday prayers. The two later met to have lunch and discuss the tasks of the vice president in the future.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — To overcome the various problems that are now happening, the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo in the 2019-2024 period does not only require a Cabinet filled with professional figures. The Cabinet also needs individuals who are able to move the government and have the same views and stance as the President.

With high demands on the Cabinet, lobbying and political compromise is feared to overshadow its preparation. The tug of war is suspected to occur until the last moment before the Cabinet announcement.

This situation, among other things, has been triggered by an alleged absence of continuously harmonious relations among the political parties in the Jokowi-Ma\'ruf Amin coalition, as well as the possibility of the addition of political parties to the coalition members. Political lobbies, such as what happened during the election of the speaker of the People\'s Consultative Assembly (MPR), also have the potential to influence the composition of the Cabinet.

With regard to this development, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said President Jokowi was the type of leader who made collegial decisions. "So, if it has been decided by the President, the ministers must have the courage to execute and not hesitate in the slightest," he said in Jakarta on Friday (4/10/2019).

KOMPAS/HERU SRI KUMORO

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo (second left) waves as vice president-elect Ma\'ruf Amin looks on after a meeting in Menteng, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (27/6/2019). After the meeting, Jokowi left for Japan to attend the Group of 20 Summit.

Therefore, Kalla added, all Cabinet members were required to be professional and have the same views and stance as the President.

With a Cabinet like that, and given Jokowi\'s experience of leading Solo city, Central Java, before becoming President for the 2014-2019 period, Kalla believes that the 2019-2024 government will be able to overcome various existing social, political, legal and security problems.

"As a leader, Pak Jokowi cannot possibly please everyone. Difference [outlook] does not matter as long as it is in the greater interest, namely the state. That must also be maintained in the Cabinet," said Kalla.

However, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University professor Azyumardi Azra is worried about the strength of political transactions in the upcoming election of Cabinet members. This is because the election of the speaker of the MPR on Thursday was also suspected to be inseparable from lobbying and political compromise.

Shortly before Bambang Soesatyo was declared unanimously as the speaker of the MPR last Thursday, chairman of the Gerindra faction in the MPR Ahmad Riza Patria said his faction supported Bambang to become the speaker of the MPR. The decision was taken after a consultation between Gerindra Party board chairman Prabowo Subianto and Indonesian Democratic party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairperson Megawati Sukarnoputri.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

State Secretary Pratikno (left), Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung and Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko attend a plenary Cabinet meeting on the evaluation of the 2014-2019 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and preparation for the implementation of the 2020 State Budget at the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Thursday (3/10/2019). At the last Cabinet meeting of the working Cabinet, the President thanked ministers who had been assisting his government along with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

A political researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Sciences, Aisah Putri Budiatri, estimated that political negotiations and the tug of war in the Cabinet composition would continue to occur until the Cabinet was announced. The political map could greatly change with the possibility of the Gerindra Party, the Democratic Party or the National Mandate Party becoming members of the government coalition. At the same time, communication among political party members of the government coalition is believed not always harmonious either.

Denying

The chairperson of the PDI-P DPP who is also the speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR), Puan Maharani, denied that the communication between Megawati and Prabowo that occurred prior to the election of the speaker of the MPR was related to lobbying the ministers\' rations in the Cabinet. "The position of the ministers and Cabinet is the prerogative of the President. The party doesn\'t know about it," Puan said.

Deputy speaker of the MPR from Gerindra Ahmad Muzani also denied there was any lobbying for the minister\'s ration behind the decision to withdraw him from the nomination of the speakership of the MPR. "There is no such talk. The thing we discussed was related to the issue of nationality," he said.

He explained that Prabowo had asked him to give up the MPR speakership in the interests of greater strategic importance. Moreover, Prabowo also saw the large support for Bambang Soesatyo.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko (left), Finance Minister Sri Mulyani, National Development Planning Minister/Head of the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) Bambang Brodjonegoro and Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) head Thomas Lembong attend a plenary Cabinet meeting on the evaluation of the 2014-2019 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) and preparation for the implementation of the 2020 State Budget at the State Palace, Central Jakarta, on Thursday (3/10/2019). At the last Cabinet meeting of the working Cabinet, the President thanked ministers who had been assisting his government along with Vice President Jusuf Kalla.

Chairman of the central executive board of the Golkar Party Tubagus Ace Hasan Syadzily said his party had not yet been asked to propose the names of candidates for Cabinet members. "As far as I know, I have not [been asked for a name]," he said.

Indonesian Solidarity Party secretary-general Raja Juli Antoni added that the person who knew very well the needs for ministers was President Jokowi.

(INK/DVD/NIA/NTA/REK/HAR)