JakartaPost-Sept 10, 2025
Prabowo Subianto’s cabinet shake-up, coming after weeklong protests viewed as the toughest test of his presidency so far, signal the start of his bid to reconsolidate power by replacing underperforming ministers in key government posts and programs with longtime loyalists, analysts said. At a ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday, Prabowo dismissed five ministers and brought in three definite replacements, while also creating a new portfolio and its deputy ministers. Among those who were removed are cooperatives minister Budi Arie Setiadi and coordinating politics and security minister Budi Gunawan. Then-cooperatives deputy minister Ferry Juliantono was promoted to minister replacing Budi Arie, while Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin broke the news on Tuesday that he has been named as the interim coordinating security minister. While the cabinet reshuffle came amid heightened public calls for widespread reform, analyst Yoes Kenawas said the shake-up was less about fulfilling these demands and reflected more of Prabowo’s bid to oust those he viewed as underperforming and installing trusted allies in their stead. “This is most obvious in [former coordinating security minister] Budi Gunawan’s case. While the Palace denied that Budi was removed over Prabowo’s dissatisfaction with his handling of the recent protests, Sjafrie’s appointment suggests otherwise,” Yoes said on Tuesday. A retired Indonesian Army general, Sjafrie is Prabowo’s long-time friend who graduated from the Military Academy in the same 1974 class and later served alongside him in East Timor. Analyst Wasisto Raharjo Jati of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) pointed to new appointees’ cooperatives minister Ferry and deputy haj minister Dahnil as evidence that the President wanted his priority programs to be run by his loyalists. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/09/10/power-consolidation-in-motion-behind-cabinet-shake-up.html.
