January 22, 2025
jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto’s first three months in office have been marred by a series of missteps and a lack of coordination among cabinet officials, with analysts pointing to an overburdened bureaucracy as the main cause of the government’s problems .
The red and white cabinet consists of 48 ministers, 56 deputy ministers and 7 heads of ministerial agencies. It is generally believed that Prabowo is trying to consolidate his party's grand alliance.
But as some observers have noted, controversies surrounding several cabinet members have become a blemish on an otherwise benign first few months, during which Prabowo enjoyed high approval ratings largely on populist policies with the support of.
One of the latest controversies is between Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono and the navy over a 30-kilometer-long sea fence of unknown origin in Tangerang, Banten province.
Sakti announced earlier this month that the fence was illegal but chose only to close it at the time, prompting the navy to step in and begin dismantling it last week on Prabowo's orders.
Shakti was quick to object to the operation, saying evidence could be destroyed in the process. But he later withdrew his objections and pledged to join the operation after back-to-back meetings with Prabowo and the naval chief of staff on Monday.
Government officials also sent mixed messages last year about a sweeping and controversial plan to increase the value-added tax (VAT), but the president walked back the proposal at the last minute before the New Year and implemented a VAT increase only on luxury goods.
Late last year, Miftah Maulana Habiburrahman, the presidential envoy for religious development, was also embroiled in controversy after mocking a vendor selling iced tea to religious gathering attendees on a rainy day. Miftah issued a public apology after Prabowo conveyed the condemnation through cabinet secretary Teddy Wijaya.
In another incident, last October, Village and Regional Development Minister Yandri Susanto used his department letterhead in a private invitation to a family event. The incident prompted the cabinet secretary to issue a warning to all cabinet members, and Yandry later issued a public apology.
Most recently, Higher Education, Science and Technology Minister Satrio Brodjonegoro faced protests from his country's civil servants on Monday over his leadership style and related incidents, although the row was resolved on the same day.
Asked to respond to the controversy, Presidential Communications Office chief Hassan Nasbi told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday that “everything has been dealt with or resolved”.
However, observers say Prabowo's cabinet lacks coordination due to its “large size” and high number of political appointees.
“This is an inevitable consequence of Prabowo's decision to appoint ministers through political negotiations rather than on the basis of their expertise,” political analyst Yos Kainavas said on Tuesday.
“Prabowo is indeed a decisive and practical leader. But even he has limitations in controlling the policies and actions of 48 ministers,” he added.
Public policy expert Trubus Rahardiansyah said Prabowo failed to “get the right people to do the right things” in his cabinet formation.
“Prabowo is the kind of leader who is willing to welcome everyone, even if people [he appointed to cabinet] Little understanding of what their job should be,” Troubs said.
He predicted that Prabowo's first priority will be to ensure that his priority projects are back on track, so a reshuffle may be carried out to remove underperforming ministers.
