Former military general Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated as Indonesia’s eighth president on Sunday, bringing an end to Joko Widodo’s decade-long leadership.
At 73, Prabowo achieved the presidency after two previous attempts, securing over 58% of the vote in February’s elections. His running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, is the son of the outgoing president.
In his inaugural speech, Prabowo vowed to tackle corruption, poverty, and inequality, stating he would be president for all Indonesians. “We must always realise that a free nation is where the people are free,” he said. “They must be freed of fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, oppression, suffering.”
Prabowo’s first major move as president was to announce a cabinet of 48 ministers and 58 vice-ministers, the largest since the 1960s, surpassing Joko Widodo’s cabinet of 34 ministers and 30 deputies. This includes the re-appointments of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto, signaling continuity in economic policies.
The re-appointments showed Prabowo “does not want to take further risks, that’s why he chose key figures that served under Jokowi,” political scientist Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said.
Despite the strong lineup, critics have expressed concerns about the size of the cabinet, warning of potential inefficiency and administrative complications. Public policy expert Lina Miftahul Jannah called it a “fat cabinet,” which may burden Indonesia’s bureaucracy. Re-organising the different ministries would also be resource intensive. “That costs a lot, in the sense that it’s not just the money spent, but the energy as well,” she said.
The cabinet will be sworn in later on Monday. Prabowo’s new cabinet is also set to attend a three-day retreat at a military academy in central Java, aimed at fostering cohesion and aligning the team with Prabowo’s vision for the nation. The ministers and their deputies will sleep in tents.
Melissa Enoch
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