JAKARTA: Surakarta mayor and presumptive vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka (pic) said on Monday (March 18) that Prabowo Subianto held full control in vetting potential cabinet appointees of his incoming administration.
Gibran also denied that his father President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo was interfering in the selection process.
"It is Pak Prabowo who sets up the cabinet," Gibran told reporters on Monday in his mayoralty and the Widodo hometown of Surakarta, Central Java. He was quick to add that he was directly involved in discussions on potential cabinet appointees.
"If that's the question, then it is between myself and Pak Prabowo. Between [just] us two," said the 37-year-old mayor.
Local media outlets report that President Jokowi, capitalising on his incumbency and his role in delivering a win for the Prabowo-Gibran ticket in the Feb 14 election, is trying to influence the composition of his presumptive successor’s new cabinet.
Some unconfirmed reports said Jokowi had asked Prabowo to retain some of his closest allies in the current cabinet, including Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia and State Secretary Pratikno.
Prabowo is expected to win the 2024 presidential election by a wide margin, with almost 90 per cent of all votes counted, according to the official vote tracking platform of the General Elections Commission (KPU).
The KPU is scheduled to announce the formal election results by March 20 at the latest. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
