17-7-2023 (JAKARTA) President Joko Widodo of Indonesia announced his fourth Cabinet reshuffle during his second term in office on Monday (Jul 17), which saw the appointment of a new communications and informatics minister and a number of senior government officials.
Budi Arie Setiadi was named the new communications minister, replacing Johnny Plate, who is under investigation for corruption. Plate was arrested in May for his involvement in the procurement of thousands of communications towers, which led to an estimated loss of about 8 trillion rupiah (US$544 million) in state funds due to inflated costs.
This is the fifth time a member of President Widodo’s Cabinet has been involved in a corruption scandal. The most recent incident saw the jailing of his social affairs and fisheries ministers in 2021 for graft.
Setiadi, a former journalist and founder of Widodo’s volunteer group Projo, was previously the deputy minister for villages, development of disadvantaged regions, and transmigration.
The president also appointed Paiman Raharjo as the new deputy minister, succeeding Setiadi. Raharjo is the current rector of Moestopo University in Jakarta.
Furthermore, Widodo created a new position of deputy minister of communications and informatics and appointed Nezar Patria, a former chief editor of the Jakarta Post newspaper, to fill the role.
In addition, Pahala Nugraha Mansury, formerly the deputy minister of state-owned enterprises (SOE), has been reassigned as the new deputy minister for foreign affairs. The previous deputy minister, Mahendra Siregar, was appointed as the chief of the Financial Services Authority in July 2022.
Rosan Roeslani, a businessman who previously served as the Indonesian ambassador to the United States, has replaced Mansury as deputy SOE minister.
In the deputy minister for religious affairs position, Saiful Rahmat Dasuki replaced Zainut Tauhid Sa’adi. Both Dasuki and Sa’adi are members of the United Development Party (PPP), and the reshuffle was reportedly “requested by the party,” according to Widodo.
Speaking after the inauguration, Widodo said the reshuffle was intended to improve the efficiency of the Cabinet. The new appointees will serve until October 2024, when a new Indonesian president is sworn in. Widodo is ineligible to run for a third term due to the law.
