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Gerindra may soon join ruling coalition
Jakarta Post - January 4, 2017
The State Palace has denied a Cabinet shake-up is imminent, but several political parties said they had received credible information that the President would dismiss some of his ministers for their meager performances and also consolidate power following two large rallies in Jakarta.
"Yes, [Jokowi] offered four posts. [I know] from someone in Jokowi's inner circle. Now all decisions lie in Pak Prabowo's hands," Gerindra deputy chairman Arief Poyuono told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday, referring to party chairman Prabowo Subianto, Jokowi's only rival in the 2014 presidential election.
The four posts are the presidential chief of staff, agriculture minister, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) minister and manpower minister. "[The reshuffle] could take place around Jan. 14 to 17, but this may change," Arief said.
Gerindra's claim has added weight to rumors that Jokowi may replace those currently leading the office and the three ministries.
It is unclear why Presidential Chief of Staff Teten Masduki is on the list of Cabinet members to be sacked. Teten, a noted antigraft activist, was part of Jokowi's inner circle during his presidential campaign, but it took nearly a year before he was granted a seat in the Cabinet.
SOEs Minister Rini Soemarno, another close confidant of Jokowi during the presidential campaign, is again standing on a shaky ground, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) increasing pressure on Jokowi to fire her amid strained relations with party matriarch Megawati Soekarnoputri. The party has long considered Rini as responsible for Jokowi's refusal to toe the party line.
The PDI-P said Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman should also be evaluated for he had no clear vision on how to boost agricultural productivity.
Manpower Minister Hanif Dhakiri, a National Awakening Party (PKB) politician, meanwhile, is in the spotlight for his failure to stem the tide of illegal foreign workers in the country.
President Jokowi may also reduce the number of Cabinet seats for the PKB for its alleged involvement in the large rallies against Jokowi's ally, Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purama. The President has insinuated the rallies were aimed at destabilizing the government.
Speculation is also rife that Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, a United Development Party (PPP) member, will also be sacked for failing to handle the anti-Ahok rallies.
Meanwhile, the PDI-P has also reportedly asked Jokowi to kick out Culture and Education Minister Muhadjir Effendy for his controversial policies, including his latest proposal to suspend the national exams.
Muhadjir is a member of Muhammadiyah, an influential Islamic organization that has been critical of Jokowi's administration. Muhammadiyah made an attempt to challenge Jokowi's tax amnesty at the Constitutional Court. The organization's youth wing was among the groups that reported Ahok to the police for alleged blasphemy.
Since taking office in 2014, Jokowi has reshuffled his Cabinet twice, with the latest carried out in July 2016 when he added new ministers from the Golkar Party and the National Mandate Party (PAN), two parties that were previously outside the government alongside Gerindra.
When asked about the Cabinet reshuffle, PDI-P executive Hendrawan Supratikno said, "Politics is full of surprises." "All parties [can] propose names, but that doesn't mean they can push [the President] for a reshuffle," he added.
The State Palace has played down the reshuffle rumors. "There is no reshuffle [yet] as revealed by the President while he was having lunch with chief editors of some media outlets," said presidential spokesman Johan Budi, who accompanied Jokowi in the closed-door lunch meeting at the State Palace on Tuesday.
Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2017/01/04/gerindra-may-soon-join-ruling-coalition.html.
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