A former general, Prabowo Subianto, has been sworn in as the new president of Indonesia, and will even lead the country’s largest cabinet since the 1960s.
No fewer than 48 ministers and 58 deputy ministers make up the new cabinet, which is considerably larger than the outgoing one led by Joko Widodo. The former president had “only” 30 ministers and 34 deputy ministers.
Subianto, 73, was sworn in as president on Sunday after winning with 58 percent of the vote in last February’s election.
He had run in the election with his son Widodo as vice presidential candidate.
More than 30 leaders attended the swearing-in ceremony, the BBC reports, including British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, Chinese Vice President Han Zeng, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
The large cabinet is a kind of political “gift” to the outgoing president, observers note, as 17 of the 48 ministers were also in the previous government. Widodo is said to have tacitly supported the new president.
Among those holding ministerial posts are the ministers of economy and finance, two critical positions for a country that has seen significant growth in recent years.
In his first speech, the new president promised to eradicate corruption and poverty and affirmed that his country would remain unaligned as it is not allied with major power blocs.
As for the first act of the new cabinet, it will be… a three-day bonding camp at the military academy facilities in Java. Ministers and deputy ministers will sleep in tents and have a chance to hear more about the new president’s vision and, of course, get to know each other.
