JAKARTA; President Prabowo Subianto has appointed former senior minister Pratikno and 25 other prominent figures to fill the previously vacant Presidential Advisory Board (Wantimpres), following a major cabinet shakeup this week.
In the second inauguration ceremony at the Presidential Palace complex in Central Jakarta this week, Prabowo appointed the 26 members to the board tasked with providing him with advice and considerations.
Former coordinating human development and cultural affairs minister Pratikno, unseated from his cabinet position a day earlier, will now serve as its chair, with former coordinating economy minister Hatta Rajasa as deputy.
The board members come from various professional backgrounds, with many closely affiliated with political parties or past presidents.
Pratikno was a close aide of president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, having served as state secretary during the two terms of Jokowi’s presidency before being appointed coordinating human development and culture minister in President Prabowo’s administration.
He was succeeded by Sugiono, Prabowo’s close aide who previously served as foreign minister, during Thursday’s reshuffle.
Hatta, a businessman and politician, was once National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman. His daughter is married to one of former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s sons. He served in various ministerial positions in Yudhoyono’s and former president Megawati Soekarnoputri’s administrations.
Budi Gunawan, a retired police general known as a confidante of Megawati, the matriarch of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), was also appointed to the board.
Budi served as State Intelligence Agency (BIN) head in the Jokowi administration before being appointed coordinating politics and security minister in Prabowo’s administration.
Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, widow of former president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid, was the only woman member appointed by the President.
Islamic scholar M. Quraish Shihab, Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) chair Anwar Iskandar and businessmen Chairul Tanjung and Dato Sri Tahir are also among the newly appointed Wantimpres members, alongside academic and vocal government critic Rocky Gerung and former Constitutional Court chief justice Anwar Usman.
Anwar is married to Jokowi’s sister and was removed from his post as chief justice for an ethics violation after using his position to sway a Constitutional Court decision in 2023 that cleared the path for Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka to be Prabowo’s running mate.
Jusuf Wanandi, a former activist and one-time Golkar Party member, was also appointed to the board. He is a senior fellow and cofounder of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a cofounder of The Jakarta Post.
Friday’s ceremony also saw the appointment of activist Syahganda Nainggolan as the new Government Communications Agency (Bakom) head, replacing Muhammad Qodari, who will also join Wantimpres as the board secretary.
After the ceremony, Pratikno told reporters the Wantimpres appointment was an extraordinary opportunity for members to share their experiences.
“With the wealth of knowledge and extensive experience among our members, we’re confident that we can provide the advice, input and considerations as mandated by law,” he said.
Hatta added that their advice and considerations to the President would remain confidential as required by law.
The inauguration came just one day after Prabowo’s seventh and largest cabinet reshuffle, that brought changes in several key positions, including the appointment of career diplomat Arrmanatha Nasir as foreign minister to replace Sugiono.
Friday’s inauguration marked the revival of the Wantimpres after it was left vacant during the first two years of the Prabowo administration.
Shortly after taking office in October 2024, Prabowo established a different board of special advisers, with only seven members.
Wantimpres was first established in 2007 under then-president Yudhoyono as a council of nine members, selected by the sitting president.
The Wantimpres Law was revised in September 2024. The revision removed the nine-council composition, allowing the president to determine the number of board members according to its needs.
Wantimpres replaced the function of the now-defunct Supreme Advisory Council (DPA) established after the Independence Proclamation in 1945. The council’s status was unclear under founding father Sukarno but was reactivated under former president Soeharto, when it consisted of dozens of members.
Political expert Emrus Sihombing from Pelita Harapan University (UPH) said the Wantimpres appointments may have only come about because Prabowo came to recognise the need for such advisers.
“We’re seeing growing challenges in international affairs, the economy, as well as law enforcement. I suppose the President formed the board to brace for those upcoming challenges,” he told the Post on Friday.
With the diverse backgrounds of the members, he added that the Wantimpres could help provide Prabowo with “radically positive considerations” as he navigates his policies.
One of the urgent issues that might require the board’s input, according to Emrus, was Prabowo’s flagship free nutritious meal programme, which has been continuously marred by food poisoning cases and corruption scandals.
Another pressing matter would be in strengthening the rupiah and improving the people’s welfare, he added.
The remaining question, he said, was “whether the board will provide the President with sound advice based on their expertise and whether the President will be willing to listen”.
