"I came to the palace at 7 o`clock. I met him and had a long chat with him," he said at a press conference at his office late that evening after the meeting.
He stated that he had expressed his wish to reduce the burden of the president after his National Mandate Party (PAN) had decided to not support Jokowi in the 2019 election. He said that he felt his presence in the cabinet would not be good ethically.
"Thank God, the president understood my feelings. So, I sought his permission to resign. He noted that my performance was positive enough for him, but if it is considered the best, he would not let me resign," he explained.
He added that before deciding to resign, he had also spoken to minister/state secretary Pratikno on Tuesday morning. The minister told him that his position had now become a trouble for the ministry and with regard to the president.
"So I did not want to burden the president as he was under pressure from his coalition party members," Asman revealed.
Regarding his replacement, he said it would be the president`s prerogative
Reporting by Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga
Editing by Yoseph Haryadi
Reporter: Rangga Pandu Asmara Jingga
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
