Different Presidents, Different Times, Different Styles
As times goes by and state leadership changes, presidents adopt different styles to form their cabinets.
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·3 minutes read
As times goes by and state leadership changes, presidents adopt different styles to form their cabinets. On Monday (21/10/2019), 12 ministerial candidates were summoned one by one to the Presidential Palace.
After being received by the President’s personal secretary, Anggit Nugroho, at the Palace’s verandah, they were received by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who was alone as Vice President Ma’ruf Amin was in Japan to attend Emperor Naruhito’s coronation. Like in job interviews, the candidates faced questions about their commitment, and the President explained to them their potential jobs. After around 15 minutes, they came out with a white folder bearing the logo of the Presidential Secretariat.
At the time, there was no “audition” or “interview” process for ministerial candidates like in his second term.
In 2014, President Jokowi announced his Cabinet one week after he was inaugurated, namely on Oct. 26. At the time, Jokowi announced his Cabinet in the inner yard between the State Palace and Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. The ministers chosen by Jokowi were asked to wear white shirts and black pants or skirts. Jokowi, accompanied by then-VP Jusuf Kalla, stood in the Palace yard and called his chosen ministers one by one. At the time, there was no “audition” or “interview” process for ministerial candidates like in his second term.
In 2014, Jokowi was also helped by a transition team in selecting his Cabinet ministers. The transition team selected ministers by investigating their track records and profiling them. To show his commitment in establishing a clean government, Jokowi involved the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). The KPK provided input about candidates’ background and marked those with a shady past.
The dynamics surrounding the selection of ministers in 2014 were also marked with red or yellow marker signs from the KPK on certain ministerial candidates allegedly involved in crimes. The mechanism was appreciated as an open, transparent and accountable selection of ministers.
Ahead of the Cabinet announcement, the transition team also called the ministerial candidates. Their names were then discussed with VP Kalla. This time, the ministers’ selection process is under Jokowi’s direct management. There is no special selection team to help him sort out ministers with a problematic past.
Different presidents
When he first served as president in 2004, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) was accompanied by then-VP Kalla in searching for and selecting ministerial candidates. The night after he was inaugurated, SBY announced his Cabinet at Merdeka Palace.
At the start of his second term, however, SBY and then-VP Boediono invited ministerial candidates for talks over a period of five days. In total, 30 ministerial candidates were summoned to SBY’s residence in Puri Cikeas Indah, Gunung Putri, Bogor, West Java.
At the end of the selection process, the ministerial candidates signed a pact to work hard, remain honest and loyal and prioritize state interests above party and group interests.
Megawati Soekarnoputri spent the most time selecting her ministers and forming her Cabinets. She delayed announcing her Cabinet on several occasions as she reportedly did not wish to replace her ministers until the end of her term. She accomplished that mission.
VP Hamzah Haz had a determinant role at the time. Megawati asked Hamzah and the central board of his Unity Development Party (PPP) to propose three alternative Cabinets. Apart from Hamzah, Megawati also made a similar request to the central board of her Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
One connecting thread in all of this is that the Cabinet formation, then and now, is a time-consuming process as various interests are considered. The president and the VP cannot completely neglect the suggestions and input from the political forces that surround them. (INA/AGE/LAS)