Indonesian President Jokowi denies his ministers are resigning; says everything is as usual

JAKARTA (Bernama): Indonesian President Joko Widodo has denied speculations that several of his Cabinet ministers had resigned, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

He said the Cabinet is still performing its duties.

"Every day, we have meetings," he was quoted as saying by the Antara news agency after celebrating the 78th anniversary of the Muslimat Nahdlatul Ulama here.

Widodo, better known as Jokowi, said speculations were deliberately created in the middle of the political campaign season leading up to the general election (PEMILU) on Feb 14.

Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) economic expert Faisal Basri had said last Saturday at a political and economic forum that 15 ministers from the technocratic circle and outside of political parties are resigning.

He feels that Jokowi is favouring the presidential and vice-presidential candidates Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Gibran is Jokowi's eldest son.

When met by the media after attending a meeting chaired by Jokowi on Friday, Sri Mulyani said: "This is what I do for work. I work."

Meanwhile, the issue of impeachment or "impeachment” against Jokowi is one of the hotly debated topics in political forums and the media.

A number of community figures have joined a movement called Petition 100, to meet with the minister of Politics, Law and Security, Mahfud MD, on Jan 9 demanding Jokowi to be impeached.

In the PEMILU 2024, the Indonesian people will go to the ballot to elect the next leader to replace Jokowi who will be finishing his second and final term as president in October. - Bernama