Zaken Cabinet, maybe?

The news of the cabinet reshuffle was blowing everywhere. The trigger was the fusion of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education with the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the presence of the Ministry of Investment and Job Creation. The growing discourse does not only mention the filling of new ministerial posts, but also extends to a cabinet reshuffle, to the hope of realizing a zaken cabinet in the Jokowi administration era. The question is, can the discourse on forming a cabinet of experts materialize? How can we ensure that Jokowi is not held hostage by political interests in the government coalition?

To answer this question, the Populi Center held a discussion at the Populi Forum with the theme 'Cabinet Zaken, is it possible?' via Zoom on Thursday (22/04/2021). Three speakers were present at the discussion namely Berly Martawardaya (Senior Researcher, INDEF), Wasisto Raharjo Jati (Researcher, P2P LIPI), and Rafif Pamenang Imawan (Researcher, Populi Center). The discussion was guided by Dimas Ramadhan (Researcher, Populi Center).

Zaken cabinet is a cabinet whose ministerial ranks come from experts and without prioritizing the representation of a particular political party. The main agenda of the zaken cabinet is a government based on meritocracy, so ministers no longer have ties to political parties and focus on working in government.

Wasisto Raharjo Jati, LIPI's P2P Researcher, explained that Indonesia had experienced a zaken cabinet during the Djuanda Cabinet era (1957-1959). Djuanda's cabinet has a ministerial composition that consists mostly of non-party professionals, rather than party representatives. After the Djuanda cabinet ended, the trend of appointing ministers from professionals also experienced a decline during the Soeharto/New Order era.

The new Zaken trend experienced an increase during the reformation period and reached its peak in the Jokowi era. Even so, the Jokowi era cannot be fully called the zaken of the cabinet, because he is still trying to accommodate the interests of political parties and professionals. "We are still in the form of an accommodative cabinet, a cabinet that is still trying to accommodate political interests and a professional path."

Rafif Pamenang Imawan, Researcher at the Populi Center, said that the desire for ministers from among the experts arose because of the public's disappointment with the performance of ministers with political party backgrounds. However, according to Rafif, cabinet zakat will be difficult to materialize due to the large number of interest groups in Indonesia. In addition, Rafif also assessed that not all professionals have the ability to control the government bureaucracy. "Intellectuals within political parties can derive ministerial discourse from the party or outside the party, political parties have an intellectual function, produce skilled professional cadres, so that when the president needs input, they will compete to produce cadres who prioritize skills rather than political relations between the two. ”

Meanwhile, Berly Martawardaya (Senior Researcher, INDEF) responded to the government's decision to form a new ministry, namely the Ministry of Investment and Job Creation. According to him, the government aims to create a climate for ease of investment through the new ministry. "Ministries can make regulations, policies, which are followed by other ministries in the hope that the change in status can facilitate investment and licensing processes in Indonesia."

Regardless of whether the ministerial position must be filled by the party or outside the party, according to Berly, both party members and professionals must both have a commitment to maintaining independence by breaking ties or relinquishing positions in the party/place of career. The aim is to maintain independence and integrity as a minister.