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JAKARTA: Indonesian President Joko Widodo announced new members of his cabinet on Tuesday (December 22), ending months of speculation.
Among the new ministers are: the head of the economic recovery task force Budi Gunadi Sadikin, the main Tri Rismaharini of Surabaya and Mr. Sandiaga Salahuddin Uno, who was the running mate of presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto in 2019.
Sadikin will replace Terawan Agus Putranto as Health Minister after public criticism that the latter has fallen short in terms of handling COVID-19.
As of Tuesday, Indonesia has recorded more than 670,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, one of the highest in Asia.
Mdm Rismaharini replaces Juliari Batubara as Minister of Social Affairs. Batubara was arrested earlier this month for allegedly receiving bribes of $ 1.2 million from two contractors tasked with distributing aid to people affected by COVID-19.
Mr. Uno has been appointed as the new Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, replacing Mr. Wishnutama Kusubandio.
“The inauguration will take place, God willing, tomorrow morning (Wednesday),” said Mr. Widodo.
Muhammad Lutfi, the current Indonesian ambassador to the United States, will take over as Commerce Minister in place of Agus Suparmanto.
Meanwhile, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas will be the new minister of religious affairs to replace Fachrul Razi.
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Mr. Sakti Wahyu Trenggono, the current Deputy Minister of Defense, will replace Mr. Edhy Prabowo as Minister of Fisheries.
The latter was arrested in late November for allegedly receiving at least 3.4 billion rupees ($ 240,000) in a case involving the importation of lobsters.
Some of these portfolios, including health, commerce, and tourism, would be seen as critical in charting a path to recovery from COVID-19.
READ: Indonesian President Widodo threatens to reshuffle cabinet over COVID-19 response
The shakeup ends months of speculation after Jokowi, as the Indonesian leader is popularly known, told his ministers in June that he was willing to turn things around because some had not done enough to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
So, Jokowi claimed that many of them were working as if things were normal. He said this had “irritated” him.
Widodo also criticized ministers for the perception of slow public spending in the face of a global pandemic and an economic crisis.
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