Piecing Together the New Cabinet

THE home of businessman Soetrisno Bachir in South Jakarta, was enlivened by the banter among the guests on the night before the end of Lebaran, last July. Their chat in a room adjacent to the swimming pool was about candidates for cabinet positions. Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla, who were supported by Soetrisno, a former chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN), were officially declared the winners of the presidential election by the General Elections Commission (KPU). "Rizal would make a good foreign minister, why would he be considered for the labor minister," asked Soetrisno, which made his colleagues burst into laughter. He said he preferred to take care of people. The guests responded by saying, "Ok, Pak Soetrisno should become the coordinating minister for people's welfare."

The Rizal in question is Dr. Rizal Sukma, executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and chairman of the foreign relations board of the Muhammadiyah organization. He prepared the material on foreign policy for Joko Widodo during the presidential debates.