West Wing Woes

If nothing goes wrong, President Joko Widodo will inaugurate his cabinet secretary on Monday or Tuesday this week. The post has been entrusted to Andi Widjajanto, a deputy on the president's Transition Team. In a meeting at the Presidential Palace on Thursday last week, Joko asked Andi to continue to communicate with State Secretary Pratikno until he was sworn in. "Just wait for the inauguration," Pratikno said.

In his new position, Andi will work under the State Secretariat. As Cabinet Secretary, Andi will assist Joko in running the government. Pratikno will also support Joko's duties as head of state. Andi said the cabinet secretary will also assist in leading the Presidential Working Unit for Development Monitoring and Control (UKP4), which is tasked with monitoring the performance of all the ministries. "We're refining the cooperation between the State Secretariat and the Secretariat of the Cabinet," he said.

November 4, 2014