Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto (front centre) and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka (front row fourth from right), posing for a group photo with newly-appointed cabinet ministers after their swearing-in ceremony at Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Oct 21, 2024. - AP
JAKARTA: Indonesia's newly minted leader, President Prabowo Subianto, officially swore in his cabinet on Monday (Oct 21), a team which analysts said reflected continuity of his predecessor's main policies.
Prabowo took office on Sunday as the eighth Indonesian president, taking the mantle from Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo. In a fiery speech to lawmakers, he promised to eradicate corruption and aim to reach self-sufficiency in food and energy.
Prabowo's cabinet has 48 ministries with over 100 ministers and deputies, including re-appointments of Sri Mulyani Indrawati as finance minister and Bahlil Lahadalia as energy minister.
Sri Mulyani will preside over Prabowo's main programmes, including giving free meals to about 20 million children which could cost the state budget 71 trillion rupiah (US$4.60 billion) in the first year, a number intended to keep the annual fiscal deficit under a legislated ceiling of 3% of gross domestic product.
A former World Bank managing director, Sri Mulyani has earned plaudits for reforming the taxation system while working under two presidents before Prabowo.
Other key re-appointments include chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto and Erick Thohir as the state-owned enterprises minister.
Prabowo's re-appointments show his intention to continue the policies of Jokowi, especially on the economy, said analyst Burhanuddin Muhtadi.
"Prabowo does not want to take further risks and that's why he chose key figures that served under Jokowi," he said, adding these appointments give Prabowo some political security.
Indonesia's new foreign minister is Sugiono, the deputy of Prabowo's political party and second-in-command of the parliamentary commission overseeing foreign policy.
Luhut Pandjaitan, Jokowi's senior minister who spearheaded Indonesia's mineral processing industry, has been named the head of the country's National Economic Council.
Prabowo's cabinet differs in some aspects from Jokowi's as some ministries have been broken up or renamed. Education and culture ministries are separate, as well as environment and forestry.
Ahead of the swearing in, Prabowo held a meeting with China's visiting Vice President Han Zheng, according to a post on his official social media platform X and China's foreign ministry. - Reuters
