Jakarta, IO – The reshuffle rumour picked up after President Joko Widodo signaled the possibility of a cabinet reshuffle at the end of 2022. The manoeuvre by the NasDem which declared former Jakarta governor Anies Baswedan as a presidential candidate for the 2024 Elections is said to be the trigger, reported Katadata, Wednesday (4/1).
Jokowi on several occasions took a swipe on party he said was reckless in rushing the presidential candidacy. Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) deputy secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto emphasized that the reshuffle discourse has nothing to do with the party. According to him, reshuffle is the sole prerogative of the president as provisioned by the law.
Hasto refuted the statement by NasDem Party deputy chair Ahmad Ali who suggested that PDI-P has pushed the president to immediately carry out a reshuffle.
“The reshuffle cannot be carried out without the president’s will and the president has mature calculations regarding this matter,” said Hasto.
Ujang Komarudin, a political observer at Universitas Al Azhar Indonesia predicted that Jokowi will only drop two of the three ministers from NasDem in the Indonesia Onward Cabinet.
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“One (minister) will be kept because NasDem currently has a sour relationship with Jokowi,” said Ujang. “This is politics. The decision is not based on performance but political calculation.” (un)