REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A Formappi researcher Lucius Karus said Rachmat Gobel, the trade minister sacked on Wednesday, had been a victim of his pro-people policy.

"I believe Gobel has been replaced only because there are many who did not like him. There are political and economic interests," Lucius said here on Thursday.

Many quarters did not like Gobel for his pro-people policies against Mafia in rice, sugar, used wear imports and most recently against Mafia in live cow imports, he said.

Gobel has banned private companies from importing beef by authorizing only the state owned Board of Logistics (Bulog) to do the importing.

He even threatened to sue speculators causing the soaring prices of beef.

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) replaced six of his cabinet ministers on Wednesday including Rachmat Gobel.

Lucius said the policies of the trade ministry under Rachmat Gobel had always been intended to protect local industries placing him in confrontation against import Mafia.

President Jokowi gave no details of the reasons for replacing his ministers.

Meanwhile, deputy chairman of the Regional Representative Council Laode Ida suspected a hidden agenda of interest group behind the cabinet reshuffle to destabilize the Jokowi government.

Laode said if the economic condition was the reason for the reshuffle, it was not fair to blame the ministers for the flagging economy amid the global economic crisis.

He said the performance of a minister could not be measured before they were given enough time.

"They have not worked long enough, not even a year,how could you say that they had failed," he said.

Rachmat Gobel refused to say reason for his replacement, instead he said he was glad to be a free man again.

"It is nice to be an ordinary citizen, free from being the target of Mafia," he said.

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