REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- A legislator has expressed the hope that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) would reshuffle his cabinet only twice at the most, and enable his ministers to focus on realizing his government's vision and mission.
"If President Jokowi reshuffles his cabinet for the second time, I hope he will have the courage to ignore pressures from political parties and name professional figures," Deputy Chairman of Commission II on home affairs of the House of Representatives (DPR), Ahmad Rizal Patira, said.
Ahmad Riza Patria made the remarks in response to the ongoing public discourse about an impending reshuffle.
He said it was the President's prerogative to replace any ministers whose performance or coordination skills he considered weak.
"Admittedly, there are no clear parameters for a reshuffle. One hopes the President would be careful while replacing a minister," he said.
He said Jokowi reshuffled his cabinet for the first time last August, with an aim to improve coordination and ensure better communication among ministers.
However, after that first reshuffle, coordination and communication among ministers did not happen the way these should have.
"There are still ministers who like to indulge in rhetorical exchanges," he said.
Riza Patria was of the view that it will be good if President Joko Widodo reshuffled his cabinet for the second time as that will help improve communication and coordination among ministers.
He hoped that if a reshuffle is carried out, it should be comprehensive and should ensure that ministers fond of indulging in unnecessary public exchanges are dropped.
Riza said the performance of the ministers in economic and legal field was not optimal and a reshuffle may be considered.
"It is enough for the cabinet to be reshuffled twice. After that, the government should focus on carrying out its programs," he stressed.
He said that if the performance of the cabinet in the first year was not optimal, it should be improved in the coming four years.