After the Cabinet Reshuffle

Last Tuesday evening, President Susilo Bambang Yudoyono (SBY) finally announced the names of his new cabinet.

Around one third of the 34 Ministers were changed, and the number of Vice Ministers were added from 10 into 19.  Beside that, Leut Gen. Maciano Norman has been named as the new Chief of the State Intelligence Agency. Please find attached the details for your perusal.

The reshuffle effected three major members of the coalition government. President SBY's Democrat Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) each of them lost one Minister replaced by professionals.
The Golkar Party did not lost any of its Ministers but its Deputy Chairman Fadel Muhammad was replaced by another Deputy Chairman of the party i.e. Syarif Cicip as Minister of Maritime and Fishery.

However, two other members of the coalition i.e. Muhaimin Iskandar, Chairman of the National Awakening Party as Manpower Minister, and Suryadarma Ali, Chairman of the United Development Party, will still hold their positions.

Due to the lost of its Minister, PKS plan to conduct an internal meeting to decide whether or not it will remain in the coalition. Earlier, some officials of PKS have vowed that the party will leave if any of its Ministers is fired.

Meanwhile Golkar Party accepted the President's decision, although Fadel Muhammad seemed to be disappointed because he has never been given any reason for the firing.

In my opinion, the reshuffle would make the Cabinet more " fatter ", causing heavier bureaucracy and burden the state budget. However, it would be better to give the Ministers and Vice Ministers some time, at least 12 months,  before we make any judgement about their performance.