Prabowo announces his ‘Red and White’ Cabinet, Sugiono named as Indonesia’s new foreign minister

JAKARTA: Indonesia’s newly inaugurated President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday (Oct 20) evening announced his Cabinet of 48 ministers.

Following the presidential gala dinner at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta, Prabowo revealed that it will be known as the “Red and White Cabinet”.

“Per agreement between leaders of political parties in our coalition, we name this Cabinet ‘Red and White Cabinet’,” he said on Sunday evening.

While it had of a mix of professional and political appointees, most of the economics-related ministers remained the same as those under his predecessor Joko Widodo (Jokowi).

One key announcement was for the foreign ministry, which will now be led by Sugiono, who goes by one name. A former member of the army’s special forces, he is the deputy chairperson of Prabowo’s Gerindra Party.

Rosan Perkasa Roeslani returned as investment minister and Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Erick Thohir kept their respective portfolios of finance and state owned enterprises.

Former army general Prabowo won the Feb 14 contest with nearly 60 per cent of the vote and has spent the past nine months building a formidable parliamentary coalition.

Prabowo will take his Cabinet members on a three-day retreat from Oct 25 to 27 at a military academy nestled in a Javanese mountain range, where they will sleep in tents, an unusual start for a government in the Southeast Asian country.

The retreat will be at a military academy in Magelang, Central Java, surrounded by volcanoes about 500km east of Jakarta.

It is aimed at forming a bond between the roughly 100 Cabinet ministers and their deputies, a diverse grouping of politicians, technocrats, former military officials and religious leaders, according to Abdul Kadir Karding, migrant protection minister.

Prabowo wants to make sure his Cabinet members understand his vision, Karding said.

“So it will be easier for us to work together. (Prabowo) always emphasises the importance of solidity,” Karding said, noting that an anti-corruption lesson will be part of the material covered at the retreat.

Such an excursion is not new for Prabowo and reflects his leadership style. His Gerindra political party has often organised similar events at Prabowo’s spacious Hambalang estate south of Jakarta.

Gerindra’s most recent retreat was held in September to prepare elected parliamentary members to be sworn in. Social media posts from the retreat show politicians posing for photographs wearing brown camouflage uniforms, maroon berets and combat boots.

Most Gerindra retreats have consisted of briefings on state ideology and leadership, and outdoor activities such as jogging and light exercises, said 57-year-old Gerindra member Ferry Juliantono, who is Prabowo’s deputy minister of cooperatives. He said Prabowo, 73, himself typically leads the retreats.

Prabowo’s Cabinet includes officials continuing on from the administration of predecessor Jokowi, such as highly-regarded finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, 62, as well as retired lieutenant general Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, 71, a friend of Prabowo since their military days who is now defence minister.

The full list of coordinating ministers and ministers in Prabowo’s “Red and White Cabinet” is as follows:

• Coordinating Minister for Political and Security Affairs: Budi Gunawan
• Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Penitentiary Affairs: Yusril Ihza Mahendra
• Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs: Airlangga Hartarto
• Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Cultural Affairs: Pratikno
• Coordinating Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development: Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono
• Coordinating Minister for People’s Empowerment: Muhaimin Iskandar
• Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs: Zulkifli Hasan
• Minister of State Secretariat: Prasetyo Hadi
• Minister of Home Affairs: Tito Karnavian
• Minister of Foreign Affairs: Sugiono
• Minister of Defense: Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin
• Minister of Religious Affairs: Nasaruddin Umar
• Minister of Law: Supratman Andi Agtas
• Minister of Human Rights: Natalius Pigai
• Minister of Immigration and Penitentiary Affairs: Agus Andrianto
• Minister of Finance: Sri Mulyani
• Minister of Primary and Secondary Education: Abdul Mu’ti
• Minister of Higher Education, Science, and Technology: Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro
• Minister of Culture: Fadli Zon
• Minister of Health: Budi Gunadi Sadikin
• Minister of Social Affairs: Saifullah Yusuf
• Minister of Manpower: Yassierli
• Minister of Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection/Head of Indonesian Migrant Workers Protection Agency (BP2MI): Abdul Kadir Karding
• Minister of Industry: Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita
• Minister of Trade: Budi Santoso
• Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources: Bahlil Lahadalia
• Minister of Public Works: Dody Hanggodo
• Minister of Housing and Settlement: Maruarar Sirait
• Minister of Villages and Disadvantaged Regions Development: Yandri Susanto
• Minister of Transmigration: Muhammad Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara
• Minister of Transport: Dudy Purwagandhi
• Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs: Meutya Hafid
• Minister of Agriculture: Andi Amran Sulaiman
• Minister of Forestry: Raja Juli Antoni
• Minister of Marine and Fisheries: Sakti Wahyu Trenggono
• Minister of Agrarian and Spatial Affairs/Head of National Land Agency (BPN): Nusron Wahid
• Minister of National Development Planning/Head of National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas): Rachmat Pambudy
• Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform: Rini Widyantini
• Minister of State-owned Enterprises: Erick Thohir
• Minister of Population and Family Development/Head of National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN): Wihaji
• Minister of Environment/Head of Environmental Control Agency: Hanif Faisol Nurofiq
• Minister of Investment and Downstreaming/Head of Investment Coordination Board (BKPM): Rosan Roeslani
• Minister of Cooperatives: Budi Arie Setiadi
• Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises: Maman Abdurrahman
• Minister of Tourism: Widiyanti Putri Wardhana
• Minister of Creative Economy/Head of Creative Economy Agency (Bekraf): Teuku Riefky Harsya
• Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection: Arifatul Choiri fauzi
• Minister of Youth and Sports: Ario Bimo Nandito Ariotedjo

Below is the list of minister-level officials in the Cabinet:

• Attorney General: Sanitiar Burhanuddin
• Chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN): Muhammad Herindra
• Chief of Presidential Staff: Anto Mukti Putranto
• Head of the Presidential Communication Office (PCO): Hasan Nasbi
• Cabinet Secretary: Teddy Indra Wijaya

The Cabinet will be sworn in on Monday morning.