June 4, 2025
JAKARTA – President Prabowo Subianto has issued a veiled warning to his cabinet ministers amid new pressure for a reshuffle, saying that he will not hesitate to remove any government official involved in corruption as he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to clean governance.
The President’s statement came during his speech on Monday at a ceremony at the Foreign Ministry’s Pancasila building to celebrate the birth of the country’s founding ideology Pancasila.
Prabowo said that, despite Indonesia’s vast resources, the country’s main weakness remained with the “attitude of the nation’s elite” and those “who hold the people’s mandate” when it comes to their permissive attitude toward corruption.
“There is still far too much misappropriation, far too much corruption and far too much manipulation taking place within the government itself,” Prabowo said. “On behalf of the people, I warn all elements in every institution: immediately clean yourselves up, [or else] the state will take action.”
He said he would not hesitate to get rid of officials who were not loyal to the country, broke laws or violated the Constitution regardless of their political party backing, familial ties or affiliation.
“The wealth of the nation must be enjoyed by all its people. All misappropriations and leakages must stop. Any official unable to carry out their duties should step down before I remove them,” the President added.
He attended Monday’s Pancasila commemoration event alongside Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka and Pancasila Ideology Development Agency (BPIP) steering committee head Megawati Soekarnoputri, who also chairs the only de facto opposition party the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P).
Read also: Prabowo treads carefully on reshuffle demands
Prabowo’s warnings came amid growing public calls for controversial ministers to be removed from cabinet. These calls mainly target Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi, who has been implicated in a trial over an online gambling scandal at the Communications and Digital Ministry.
Last month, Budi’s name was mentioned in the indictment letter presented by prosecutors against four defendants at the South Jakarta District Court. Budi is neither a suspect nor a defendant in the case.
Prosecutors at the time said Budi, who was communications minister near the end of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s second term, allegedly benefited from kickbacks given to ministry employees for letting online gambling websites operate.
Read also: Minister Budi Arie in hot water over online gambling indictment
Several other ministers have recently come under public scrutiny, including Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who has made a series of controversial remarks, and Foreign Minister Sugiono, who has faced criticism for his apparent inaction over a controversial decision by United States President Donald Trump barring Harvard from accepting international students.
Prabowo’s Gerindra Party secretary-general Ahmad Muzani said the President could exercise his prerogative to shake up his cabinet whenever necessary. But Muzani said he had not yet heard of such a plan, Kompas.com reported.
Since assuming office in October last year, Prabowo has so far only reshuffled his cabinet once in February, when he appointed Brian Yuliarto as higher education, science and technology minister to replace Satryo Soemantri Brodjonegoro.