Disappointment greets Jokowi's cabinet structure

IN TRANSITION. President-elect Joko Widodo (C) speaks to journalists after a meeting with Japan's Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida (not pictured) in Jakarta on August 12, 2014. Photo by Adek Berry/AFP

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Critics and supporters alike expressing disappointment at President-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's cabinet structure, which will remain at 34 seats with an almost even split between professionals and "professional" political party members.

Jokowi promised several times during the campaign that he would build a lean and professional cabinet. But in a brief press conference on Monday evening, alongside Vice President-elect Jusuf Kalla and flanked by his transition team, he announced a cabinet structure that closely resembles the current one.

"Untuk pemerintahan yang bekerja dan pemerintahan yang hadir di tengah-tengah rakyat, pada sore hari ini telah kita putuskan jumlah kementeriannya ada 34. Yang nanti pembagiannya akan diduduki oleh oleh 18 profesional dan 16 profesional partai," Jokowi said. ("For a government structure that performs, and one that is close to the people, this afternoon we have decided that there will be 34 ministerial positions, which will consist of 18 professionals and 16 professionals from political parties.")

The current Yudhoyono cabinet has 34 positions, 17 of which are occupied by "professionals" or technocrats. This count considers the energy minister to still be a political seat, despite the recent resignation of Jero Wacik, a Democratic Party official, after he was named suspect in a graft case. It also considers the coordinating minister for the economy seat to be filled by a technocrat, Chairul Tanjung, even though it was occuppied by National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Hatta Rajasa up until May 2014, before he ran for vice president with Prabowo Subianto.

Prabowo supporters were quick to point out inconsistencies between Jokowi's campaign promises and Monday's announcement, particularly the president-elect's statement that he would trim the cabinet.

Sebelum Pilpres: Kabinet ramping Setelah Pilpres: Jumlah Kementerian 34 (Sama dengan sekarang) #SalamGigitJari pic.twitter.com/nDwlwoQ2q2

— Rizki Aljupri (@RizkiAljupri) September 15, 2014

Yogyakarta-based writer Arman Dhani, who supported Jokowi during the campaign, did not mince words, saying the president-elect "lied". He also tweeted that supporters should be able tell their "idols" the truth.

Jokowi bohong kan ya? Katanya mau bikin kementrian yang ramping. Bohong ya bohong aja sih ya.

— Dhani (@arman_dhani) September 15, 2014

Gerindra Deputy Chairman Fadli Zon was quick to underline the fact that 16 ministers would come from political parties, even though Jokowi described them to be "professionals".

Kabinet 34: 18 professional, 16 PROFESIONAL PARPOL. Hehehe. #KUTIPUKAU

— Fadli Zon (@fadlizon) September 15, 2014

The hashtag Fadli used, "KUTIPUKAU", means "I lied to you".

Jokowi repeatedly stated before that he would not trade ministerial seats for political support. While Jokowi accepted a few questions during the press conference, he didn't give a direct answer when asked why there were "professionals from political parties" in the cabinet structure.

In an interview on TvOne, Jokowi's transition team deputy, Andi Widjajanto, said the 18-16 split was deemed necessary to build a solid cabinet.

In response to a reporter's question asking the difference between a "professional" and a "professional from a political party", Jokowi only said a professional does not come from a political party.

Jokowi did say, though, that professionals would be appointed to the finance, state-owned enterprises, energy and agriculture ministries.

But some Jokowi supporters still tweeted their disappointment at having too many "political party professionals".

Ternyata yang pertama dilakukan Jokowi JK ya bagi bagi jatah kabinet Parpol. Setelah sekian lama manis janji kampanye...

— haye (@haye) September 15, 2014

mulai hari ini mari kita mulai mengingat lagi daftar janji Jokowi JK, dan mari kita mulai mencatat seperti apa realisasinya.

— Ahmad Azhar Moeslim (@azhmoes) September 15, 2014

– Rappler.com