Widodo’s fleeting ascent from furniture representative to president of the world’s third-biggest majority rule government, and the first to originate from outside the political or military foundation, was broadly seen as a watershed minute for Indonesia.
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Less than 10 months into his term, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia on Wednesday fired four Cabinet ministers, including crucial members of his economic team, in a reshuffle that reflected growing frustration with struggles to improve the country’s sluggish economy.
Former central bank chief Darmin Nasution, who during his tenure managed to keep the rupiah exchange rate against the United States dollar stable, will replace Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Sofyan Djalil, who will then fill in as the head of the national development planning agency, a source who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Straits Times.
The reshuffle, which involved some key economic positions, reflects the balance Jokowi has chosen to strike between appointing technocrats to some portfolios to send positive signals about the future direction of economic policy and appeasing key figures within his own party. “The president, vice president and ministers strongly believe that Indonesians have the strength to overcome this”.
The rupiah fell 1.4 percent, the most this year, and the benchmark Jakarta stock index dropped 3.1 percent to the lowest since February 2014 as China’s yuan devaluation put pressure on Asian markets. Jokowi picked Thomas Lembong as trade minister.
Lembong, a Harvard-educated investment banker, is the chief executive of Quvat Management, a Singapore-based private equity firm that invests in Indonesia.
Supporters said the former governor of Jakarta would root out corruption, promote people based on merit rather than connections, and reignite the stalling economy.
“There is thus a better chance of policy coordination”, he Wiranto said.
The announcement of the reshuffle is slated for early Wednesday afternoon.
Jokowi also appointed current Presidential Chief of Staff Luhut Panjaitan as the new coordinating minister for politics, law and security and a prominent economist Rizal Ramli as the coordinating maritime minister.
More troubling is word that another veteran PDI-P politician, Pramono Anung, will be joining Jokowi’s cabinent, replacing Andi Widjajanto as Cabinet Secretary.
Widodo has been dogged by severe public criticism over his perceived failure to stand up to vested interests and the political elite that backed him in last year’s election.
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“Several ministers were called to the palace to discuss the reshuffle”, said one palace official.
