JAKARTA – Prabowo Subianto is expected to have the courage to choose professional candidates for ministerial positions that have always been a bone of contention for parties, such as Minister of Trade and Minister of Agriculture.
This was said by the Director of the Centre for Political Studies at the University of Indonesia Hurriyah in a conversation with The Editor not long ago.
“Those ministries with strategic positions will face business groups, such as the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Trade,” she said.
This challenge, according to her, needs to be given to Prabowo Subianto because many supporting parties were involved in his winning coalition during the last election.
These parties, in general, felt they were involved in the process of winning Prabowo and Gibran at that time.
What’s more, she continued, winning a ministerial position will provide great access to resources for the party that sits on it.
“All political parties feel that their involvement in the coalition, in government ministerial positions, gives them tremendous access to resources,” she said.
Will Prabowo choose professional candidates for the two positions?
Hurriyah believes that Prabowo Subianto will not dare to take the position as the main decision-maker in determining the names of ministerial candidates who will sit in his cabinet.
Including for the positions of agriculture and trade ministers, she believes Prabowo is not sure that he will give the positions to parties that are not just looking for profit.
“It’s difficult, because you have to take a commitment (from) the political elite,” she said.
Why is it difficult?
It is believed that Prabowo will not dare to put professionals in strategic ministerial positions because he is not confident in his own victory.
“In Indonesia, those who win are not ready to win, and those who lose are not ready to lose,” she said.
For this reason, Hurriyah asked the public and the opposition to pay close attention to Prabowo and Gibran’s political promises during the last election.
She hopes that the public will not passively watch the government run without fulfilling the political promises that made them chosen by the public during the election.
“The losing parties must also be ready to lose. When they lose, they take a position to criticize whether, for example, the government is running in accordance with the campaign promises and programmes that have been delivered,” she said.
Hurriyah also asked the opposition who lost the election to have a big heart and dare to create a healthy democracy.
If the opposition joins the government, she continued, then trillions of money would be wasted on the democratic party.
