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(Bloomberg) — President Joko Widodo is set to replace Indonesia’s energy chief in a wider cabinet reshuffle just weeks before he’s due to step down, in a bid to ensure his policies remain priorities for the incoming administration of Prabowo Subianto.
The palace will announce new ministers of energy, investment and law, at 9:30 a.m. local time, presidential special staffer Ari Dwipayana said in a text message on Monday. Jokowi, as the leader is more widely known, will also appoint a second deputy minister of communications and the head of the nutrition agency, an institution initiated by Prabowo to prepare his signature free school meals program.
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The president’s fourth cabinet reshuffle in the past 12 months follows speculation he would act to entrench policies like the processing of Indonesia’s critical minerals onshore and the construction of a new capital city.
Under Jokowi, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif banned the export of certain raw commodities in order to force investors to build processing facilities in the country. The move helped attract billions of dollars worth of investment into nickel smelters — largely from Chinese firms — but proved less successful for other minerals like bauxite.
Meanwhile, Investment Minister Bahlil Lahadalia revoked a large number of mining permits deemed inactive. A key Jokowi ally, he was also trusted to handle the conflict over the construction of a $25 billion industrial complex near Singapore, and was recently given charge of efforts to accelerate investment in the new capital, Nusantara.
—With assistance from Eddie Spence and Grace Sihombing.
(Updates with more context.)
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