Prabowois Cabinet: The fine art of balancing

The new Indonesian Presidents Cabinet is huge, but then so are his ambitions and the diverse interests that are in play.

- Leonard C. Sebastian

On Oct 20, President Prabowo Subianto named Indonesia's largest-ever Cabinet since 1966. With 109 members - inclusive of ministers, vice-ministers and heads of national agencies - it dwarfs his predecessor loko Widodo's 34-member team.

Why the need for such a plus-size Cabinet? A number of factors are in play.

When former president Sukarno cobbled together his short-lived 132-member Dwikora Cabinet 2, it was done at a time of political and economic turmoil. The circumstances in 2024 are quite different.

In his inaugural speech, Mr Prabowo outlined with optimism a governing vision affixed on the belief that the country's natural endowments, namely its extensive maritime area and natural resource wealth, would become the foundation of a local industrialisation strategy that would enable Indonesia to become one of the world's leading economies.

Given this vision, the "Red and White Cabinet" - named with the colours of the national flag in mind - has a big job on its hands.

To achieve his goal, Mr Prabowo wants to increase annual economic growth to 8 per cent from the current 5 per cent by the end of his five-year term. He also has an ambitious spending programme that includes higher defence spending and pay increases for civil servants, plus a programme to provide free school meals for millions of children as well as nutritional support for pregnant women.

Mr Prabowo has also emphasised in numerous post-election speeches plans to reduce poverty, manage corruption, and improve food and energy self-sufficiency.

Meeting these targets over his five-year term is going to be a tall order. Mr Prabowo is the oldest president ever sworn into office in Indonesia. He must calculate that this may be his only term in office, making it even more pressing that he is able to succeed in leaving a legacy as a strong leader who paved the way for Indonesia to achieve greatness.

WHY BIG IS SEEN AS BETTER