Many have expressed their disappointment in President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s Cabinet as it is filled with a large proportion of individuals from political parties of the ruling coalition.

On the non-ministerial front, the appointment of M. Prasetyo from the NasDem Party as attorney general and Budi Gunawan as the sole candidate to be chief of the National Police invited criticism, although Jokowi decided to annul the latter. Such appointments have put the government’s credibility at stake.

Transactional politics have long been a part of Indonesian Cabinets before and after the reformasi. Transactional politics are inevitable, as embracing the various elites will make it easier for the ruling government to pass its agenda.

… The writer is a student at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.