By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo said he may reshuffle his cabinet in the next few days, as some political sources bet on a last major realignment of his government to complete programmes ahead of elections due to be held in 2024.
Speculation about a reshuffle has been growing since Nasdem, one of seven political parties in the ruling coalition, announced it would back former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan in the 2024 presidential election – a politician seen as a potential rival to Widodo’s successor.
Members of the president’s Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP) party have since called for him to sack Nasdem members in the cabinet.
When asked about an upcoming reshuffle, Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, confirmed he was planning a cabinet shake-up.
“Could be Friday, Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday,” he told reporters, during a visit to Riau province late on Thursday, without elaborating.
Three sources from the president’s coalition and the government said Jokowi has been considering a major cabinet shake-up before his final term ends in 2024 to complete remaining programmes and projects.
Jokowi would sack poorly performing ministers, said the sources, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.
They did not name ministers who might go, but said Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Luhut Pandjaitan, the minister overseeing investment and energy, and State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir were likely to remain in the cabinet.
The president’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Three Nasdem politicians are currently in Jokowi’s cabinet, heading the ministries of agriculture, communication and environment.
Nasdem senior politician, Saan Mustopa, said his party had a right to endorse former Jakarta governor Baswedan, while remaining a member of the ruling coalition.
“Besides, we are still fully backing Jokowi’s administration,” Mustopa told Reuters.
Jokowi’s last reshuffle was in June, 2022, when he named a new trade minister to resolve a cooking oil supply crisis.
The president has not publicly announced who he will back as his successor. Surveys by independent pollsters showed the most popular candidates are Central Java governor and PDIP member Ganjar Pranowo, Jokowi’s defence minister Prabowo Subianto and Baswedan.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Ed Davies)
