By: Mubdi Tio Thareq) *
After being inaugurated as the 8th President of Indonesia, President Joko Widodo immediately arranged a working cabinet for the period 2019 to 2024. This indicates that President Jokowi wanted to move quickly so that the development program could be realized immediately.
President Jokowi in compiling the cabinet clearly did not do it alone, because it could be that Jokowi formed “Timsus” as a “spotting minister candidates team”, while the figures who were called by Jokowi to the State Palace yesterday to this day were Jokowi’s efforts to interview them briefly, because of the possibility there is already a “full assessment” made by “Timsus”.
Of course, President Jokowi in compiling the cabinet also considered the results of meetings or communication with high-ranking political party leaders both coalition and non-coalition political parties.
The drafting of the cabinet 2019 to 2024 will clearly consider various threats and challenges going forward that will be colored by unstopable global uncertainty, including Jokowi continuing to implement change management as evidenced by the plan to develop human resources, making a clean, non-corrupt and competitive government bureaucracy with the courage to execute work programs in the interests of the people, so that it is natural that President Jokowi plans to abolish the echelon 3 position below (Kasubdit / Kabag down) and will strengthen functional positions in accordance with his competence. Bureaucracy if this plan is implemented will be filled with structural officials who are professional and able to work independently, because they must be able to carry out their vision, mission and strategy by collaborating with functional agencies among agents.
Another thing that President Jokowi will pay attention to in compiling the cabinet is that the President wants to ensure the cabinet’s solidity which will be announced tomorrow is until 2024, because it is not a positive political image if in his second period, Jokowi is “forced” to have to reshuffle the cabinet many times. Therefore, it is predicted that prospective ministers who are expected to advance in the 2024 Presidential Election will be very few in the current cabinet. Because, it would be logical if Jokowi did not want his cabinet to shake and even be colored by ministers who resigned because they were preparing to advance in the 2024 Presidential Election.
What is certain is that the preparation of the cabinet is the prerogative right of the President, and it is not elegant if the President’s decision is not or is not accepted gracefully. Jokowi also wants to be recorded in history as a successful President, so that the President will elect his prospective assistants in the cabinet prudently and wisely. Hopefully in the future, Indonesia will get better.
) * The writer is a political observer.