A New Minister at the End of Jokowi's Administration
Monday, September 16, 2024
There is a strong aroma of politics around the appointment of Saifullah Yusuf as Minister for Social Affairs. President Jokowi should focus on dealing with the problems of poverty.
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SAIFULLAH Yusuf has been appointed Minister for Social Affairs one month before the cabinet of Joko Widodo comes to an end, but what will he be able to do? Normally, the final days of an administration like this are a period of transition toward the president-elect. It is obvious that this appointment of the Nahdlatul Ulama Secretary-General is a mere reward given by Jokowi at the end of his administration.
No matter how good Saifullah is, he will not be able to do much in the way of making technocratic decisions in the 39 days remaining of the Jokowi administration. Of course, he will need time to ensure that the ministry is carrying out its responsibilities properly. Based on Presidential Regulation No. 46/2015, the Social Affairs Ministry is tasked with matters relating to social rehabilitation, social security, social empowerment, social protection and looking after the poor. But it is likely that the new minister will not even have time to learn the names of all his subordinates before his term ends, yet alone fulfill his ministerial responsibilities.
Jokowi appointed Saifullah Yusuf as Social Affairs Minister to replace Tri Rismaharini, who stood down on September 11 to run for governor of East Java. The President claimed that he needed to appoint a definitive Social Affairs Minister because the ministry has huge responsibilities and deals directly with poor people. He said that if there were not a definitive minister, the results would not be as good.
But the fact is that there will not be much benefit to the people from replacing Risma. Jokowi could have appointed an acting minister, for example, a senior official from within the ministry. He could have even asked another minister to temporarily take over the responsibilities of the Social Affairs Minister. After all, the cabinet will be dissolved soon. Then, a definitive minister would be appointed by the new president, Prabowo Subianto.
The new government will need to ensure that there is no more of the corruption that seems to always accompany the Social Affairs Ministry. President Abdurrahman Wahid even dissolved the ministry, saying that “the rats have taken over the barn.” Moreover, during the administration of Megawati Sukarnoputri, Social Affairs Minister Bachtiar Chamsyah was jailed for corruption relating to the import of cattle and the supply of sewing machines.
During the Jokowi era, two Social Affairs Ministers have been charged with similar offences. Idrus Marham was jailed for corruption offences committed before he headed the department. Then there was more corruption when the Social Affairs Minister was led by Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician Juliari Batubara. He was found guilty of embezzling social assistance funds during the Covid-19 pandemic. This social assistance that should have gone to poor people became a cash cow for the elite, including politicians.
Perhaps Saifullah will continue as Social Affairs Minister in the Prabowo administration. If this happens, any hopes to have a clean Ministry of Social Affairs probably will fade. Clearly, his appointment was in return for a political favor. The Nahdlatul Ulama leadership, including Saifullah, openly supported the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming pairing in the presidential election.
An appointment made on the basis of returning a favor is clearly not a positive sign of improvements in the Social Affairs Ministry.
