December 13, 2024
JAKARTA – Barely 50 days into his presidency, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s administration is already grappling with gaffes involving high-profile appointees, which some say cast an early shadow on his governance.
Observers, however, remain divided on whether these incidents have far-reaching implications.
Some predict that such missteps from Indonesia’s fledgling government will increase due to the administration’s inexperience in managing public expectations, while others believe these are inevitable growing pains for any new set of leaders.
On Dec 6, Presidential Special Envoy for Religious Harmony and Religious Facility Development Miftah Maulana Habiburrahman made headlines when he resigned from his position, following public outrage after he mocked an iced tea seller.
During a public prayer event in Central Java on Nov 20, Mr Miftah, or Gus Miftah as he is known to his followers, ridiculed a man who was selling tea in the crowd, telling him to sell his wares in another area of the outdoor venue and calling him “goblok”, which means “stupid”.
The incident went viral on social media and internationally in the weeks before Mr Miftah’s resignation. Netizens slammed his remarks, which are seen as demeaning to those trying to earn a living in the country.
Politicians got involved. The Gerindra Party, which Mr Prabowo co-founded and is currently chairman of, condemned the preacher’s comments, and even Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim chimed in.
“It is odd that someone who knows the religion, preaches on Islam, could make insulting comments like that,” Datuk Seri Anwar said on Dec 5.
Prior to that, in October, Villages and Regional Development Minister Yandri Susanto was criticised for using his ministry’s letterhead to invite local leaders in Banten to an event commemorating his mother’s death anniversary.
The minister blamed the lapse in judgment on his inexperience, and said that when his staff were preparing the invitations, he was too busy to notice the letterhead.
“I am still new to being a minister. I am still learning,” he said on Oct 23, according to news portal Bisnis Indonesia.
The two episodes are seen by some as reflective of weak processes when Mr Prabowo was forming his Cabinet, said Dr Irman G. Lanti from Padjadjaran University in Indonesia.
“It is doubtful that he did a careful and thorough vetting of his appointees. This has resulted in the various figures with different personalities joining his Cabinet,” said Dr Irman.
It is likely that we have not heard the last of such incidents from Mr Prabowo’s Cabinet, Dr Irman added, noting the diverse professional backgrounds and bureaucratic experience of its members.
Mr Made Supriatma, an ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute visiting fellow, said that these episodes involving Mr Miftah and Mr Yandri have similarities, being missteps from newbie politicians unsure about their new positions.
“There will always be things like this,” said Mr Made, adding that outside of these two incidents, things have been relatively stable for Mr Prabowo’s Cabinet.
He noted how the team of leaders continued to function despite the whirlwind diplomacy tour that the President undertook in November, when he visited several countries, including China, the US and Britain over 16 days.
When asked what other big challenges await the Prabowo administration, Dr Irman said Mr Prabowo will have to figure out how to get Cabinet members from various socio-political backgrounds to share his vision.
Efforts to do so are already under way.
Just days after swearing them in, Mr Prabowo, a former defence minister, sent his Cabinet members to a military boot camp, where the leaders spent time bonding and attending briefings that outlined his vision.
But such efforts can only go so far, and the President may need to take bigger steps to ensure he can get his team to perform, said Dr Irman.
Dr Irman added: “It is not too far-fetched to imagine that Prabowo will have to reshuffle the Cabinet before long… (he needs to make sure) his Cabinet will be an asset rather than a liability.”
This is especially important because Mr Prabowo has not had a policy that has emerged as a “quick win”, said Mr Made.
The much-hyped free lunch plan, which was championed and touted as a winning plan, has begun to take shape, but there still have been no concrete moves made for mass implementation, he added.
The plan, a cornerstone of Mr Prabowo’s campaign in the lead-up to 2024’s Feb 14 election, promises to address malnutrition by providing free meals to all children and pregnant women, and aims to reach more than 80 million people by 2029.
“Prabowo needs something that he can inaugurate and claim as his success in 100 days of government, which is getting closer and falls on Jan 20, 2025,” said Mr Made.
Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.