Jokowi's Gambit

AFTER winning more than 70 million votes in the July 9 election, President-elect Joko Widodo and his deputy Jusuf Kalla should involve the public in choosing the right people for their cabinet. Involving the people is one way of bringing about a government that is clean, professional and interactive. This approach would be a major improvement over the type of representative government it has claimed to be for the last 10 years.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was inclined to put coalition party representation before professional ability when he sought out people to fill his cabinet. Using his presidential prerogative, the president summoned candidates to his home for a fit-and-proper test. The people watched this artificial political ritual on the television news, without any opportunity to have any say.

August 5, 2014