Gerindra Supports Increasing the Number of Ministries in the Prabowo-Gibran Cabinet

Deputy General Chairperson of Gerindra Habiburokhman believes that more ministries are actually good for the government.

KOMPAS/WAWAN H PRABOWO

President Joko Widodo, accompanied by the ministers of the Indonesian Maju Cabinet, took a photo with the event organizers and committee members of the 2020 National Lunar New Year Celebration at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE), Tangerang, Banten, on Thursday (1/30/2020).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The discourse on increasing the number of ministries during the 2024-2029 administration period of the elected president and vice president Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka received support from the Party elite Gerindra. A number of ministries are deemed necessary to be split because their main tasks are too broad and cover many areas.

Deputy Chairman of the Gerindra Party, Habiburokhman, did not deny that there was talk of increasing the number of ministries during the 2024-2029 government period. Currently, the government led by President Joko Widodo and Vice President Ma'ruf Amin has 34 ministries, while the 2024-2029 presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto, who is currently compiling the cabinet, is reportedly designing the structure cabinet consisting of 41 ministries.

According to Habiburokhman, in the context of Indonesia, having a larger number of ministries is actually beneficial for the government and public services. This is because Indonesia is a large country with big targets and challenges to reach them. The involvement of many parties is needed to ensure that programs are implemented according to their targets.

Also read: Reorganizing State Ministries, Cabinet Proposed to Fill with 41 Ministers

"So, it's natural that we need to gather a lot of people to come together in government to make it bigger," he said when met at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Monday (6/5/2024).

KOMPAS/YOSEPHA DEBRINA RATIH PUSPARISA

Deputy General Chairperson of Gerindra Habiburokhman.

The Vice Chairman of DPR's Commission III continued, there have been many suggestions to split several ministries into different entities because of their vastly different tasks. For example, the Ministry of Law and Human Rights has the Directorate General of General Law Administration that deals with legal entities and the Directorate General of Correctional Facilities that deals with prisoners and correctional institutions. Not only that, there is also the Directorate General of Human Rights whose tasks include the respect and protection of human rights.

Problems also arise from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry (KLHK). In practice, the scope of work at KLHK is under two commissions in the DPR.

"We operate dialectically in our country. Perhaps, certain practices from the past need to be improved. As a consequence, there may be a need to increase the number of ministries and institutions," he said.

KOMPAS/RONY ARIYANTO NUGROHO

President and Vice President elect Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka held a press conference after receiving their appointment letter as president and vice president from the General Election Commission at the Open Plenary Meeting to Determine the Elected Presidential and Vice Presidential Nominees of the 2024 Election at the KPU RI Building in Jakarta on Wednesday (24/4/2024).

The discourse on increasing the number of ministries is developing in line with Prabowo's maneuver to enlarge his coalition supporters in the government. Currently, Prabowo and his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, are supported by nine political parties (parpol) who joined the Indonesian Moving Coalition (KIM). Out of the nine political parties, four of them, namely Gerindra Party, Golkar Party, Amanat Nasional Party (PAN), and Democratic Party, passed the parliament and are estimated to control around 48 percent of the 580 seats in the parliament.

To strengthen support for his government, Prabowo is trying to embrace a number of political parties that will be his political opponents in the 2024 Presidential Election (Pilpres). These political parties are the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the National Awakening Party (PKB), the Nasdem Party, and the National Awakening Party. Prosperous Justice (PKS). However, only PKB and Nasdem have expressed support for the Prabowo-Gibran government.

Habiburokhman does not dismiss public criticism that the addition of ministries is an effort to accommodate political parties outside of the coalition. According to him, this actually becomes feedback that will be considered in the formation of the cabinet.

We accept input from the public, but the authority to form a cabinet, what kind of formation it will be, how many in number, lies with Pak Prabowo.

"Do not let the addition of a ministry be merely to accommodate political interests. We have received input from the community, but the authority to form the cabinet, its formation, and number is up to Mr. Prabowo as the elected president," he said.

Prerogative

Although the number of ministries is designed to be more, Habiburrakhman ensures that the effectiveness of the cabinet's work remains a consideration for Prabowo. Gerindra officials do not discuss the arrangement of the cabinet because it is the president's prerogative. "Because he (Prabowo) will be the one receiving the report from the people. We leave it to him to carry out and execute his rights," he said.

When contacted separately, the Chairman of the Democratic Party's Membership and Cadre Organization Governing Agency (BPOPKK), Herman Khaeron, stated that each period of government has its own specificities and arrangement of ministries. The public should not assume that the structure of ministries only correlates with a dynamic political situation.

KOMPAS/KURNIA YUNITA RAHAYU

Deputy Chairman of Commission II DPR Herman Khaeron

"The ministry's portfolio will certainly be discussed according to its urgency, its future goals and targets will be adjusted to the portfolio that will be compiled by Mr. Prabowo," he said.

Also read: It is hoped that Prabowo-Gibran's Cabinet preparation will not be based on Cattle Trade Politics

Therefore, in his opinion, the public should wait for an official announcement from Prabowo when the time comes. As one of the supporting political parties for Prabowo, the Democrats trusted the formulation of ministerial positions to be given by Prabowo, including those to be given to the parties.