Will President Prabowo "Reshuffle" the Cabinet?

Why did the issue of Prabowo's cabinet "reshuffle" arise?

The issue of a cabinet reshuffle first emerged in President Prabowo Subianto's speech at the commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of Nahdlatul Ulama (NU).

In his speech, President Prabowo stated that during the first 100 days of his administration, he has repeatedly issued warnings to several parties. Anyone who is stubborn and does not comply with the demands of the people for a clean government will be dealt with. In this regard, the President has also repeatedly conveyed that all institutional apparatus should clean themselves up before being cleaned up by the President.

The President has also reminded that loyalty should only be to the nation and the people. "If you are not loyal to the people of Indonesia, if you obstruct policies for the people of Indonesia, I will take action against you all," said the President.

When asked further about the code for a cabinet reshuffle, Prabowo neither confirmed nor denied it. According to him, his statement about cleaning up the cabinet was very clear.

"We want the people to demand a clean and proper government, one that works correctly. So I want to uphold that. The interest is only for the nation and the people, there are no other interests. Those who do not want to work truly for the people, I will remove," said Prabowo after the event.

Is it true that there will be a "reshuffle" when Prabowo's government is only three months old?

The Daily Chairman of the Gerindra Party, Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, when met at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, on Thursday (6/2/2025), did not firmly answer whether Prabowo's statement indicated that there would be a signal of a cabinet reshuffle in the near future. He only stated that Prabowo, as the president, understands his aides the best.

Every moment, Dasco continued, Prabowo constantly observes to what extent his ministers are able to match the President's work in fulfilling the Prabowo-Gibran campaign promises at this time. In the evaluation of the first 100 days of this administration, Prabowo can also assess whether his ministers have been performing their duties to the fullest or not.

"Therefore, the president who has the prerogative. We leave it to the president to then, after these 100 days, either conduct an evaluation or take corrective measures internally," said Dasco.

However, he does not deny that there are currently complaints regarding ministers who are not in harmony with President Prabowo. "Well, indeed I have heard some complaints about some who are still not in sync. Now, whether that is what is meant, we will see how it turns out," he said.

How does PDI-P view the Prabowo cabinet "reshuffle" signal?

The Chairman of the Central Leadership Council of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (DPP PDI-P), Said Abdullah, considers the performance of Prabowo's administration to still be regarded as good due to high public satisfaction. However, the President needs to evaluate the ministers who have not been able to keep up with the rhythm in his cabinet.

According to Said, the President knows better which ministries need to be pushed to realize Astacita, namely the programs launched by the government under the leadership of Prabowo-Gibran.

"If we look at the orchestration from the ranks of the ministries, indeed I hope the President can evaluate the ministers who are struggling and stuttering to keep up with the President's fast pace. In fact, there are policies from ministers that eventually make the President step in directly to stop their policies," said Said.

The first 100 days of the administration, added Said, are actually sufficient to evaluate, even to conduct a reshuffle. However, he predicts that this will not be done in the near future.

What happened before the cabinet “reshuffle” signal?

The government has not even been running for four months, but at least four strategic policies have been canceled due to public protests. President Prabowo Subianto has been at the forefront of reversing a number of policies that have been designed and implemented by ministers, but have not gone smoothly.

The last policy that was revoked after four days was a ban on retailers selling 3-kilogram LPG. The regulation, which was implemented by the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) since February 1, 2025, was revoked by President Prabowo Subianto on February 4, 2025 after a polemic over purchasing LPG occurred in the community. Long lines in the heat and rain became a common sight from Sabang to Merauke.

Public policy expert from Gadjah Mada University, Gabriel Lele, sees that Prabowo's leadership is actually gaining good momentum considering that he has strong political support and public acceptance.

However, within the government there is still visible fragmentation that causes Prabowo to always be in two extreme choices, namely the chaos of government or appearing as a single actor to solve the problem. During the three months of this government, both have occurred, a number of ministers issued controversial policies, then the President appeared alone to fix them.

In every strategic policy that has the potential to reap high controversy, the President should appear first. As head of state and head of government, he must take the role of initiating all steps to be implemented by the ministers and ensuring that everything has been calculated carefully for the benefit of the people.