Tools of Cabinet-Making

ON the night of October 20, 2004, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced his new cabinet, after delaying it three times. It was nearly midnight when, accompanied by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, he announced the names of his 36-member cabinet, comprising three coordinating ministers, 18 departmental ministers, 13 state ministers and two minister-level officials.

Yudhoyono called it the United Indonesia Cabinet. According to Jusuf Kalla, it was the result of compromises reached with various parties. "It was changed many times. Some changes were made at the last minute," Kalla told Tempo three weeks ago. Kalla was recently elected as Joko Widodo's vice president in the recent presidential polls.

August 5, 2014