Our decisions are made for the whole Presidential Secretariat, and we could represent Mr Heru. We now must ensure that the decision-making process will not be impeded, and we have also calculated these risksJakarta (ANTARA) - The Presidential Secretariat services to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) and First Lady Iriana will not be impacted by Heru Budi Hartono's appointment as Jakarta's acting governor until 2024.
"We affirm it will not be affected. We already have the performance standard, which will neither be modified nor changed. Hence, we only wish to congratulate Mr Heru as Jakarta's acting governor, and we are not bidding him farewell (as the secretariat head)," Presidential Secretariat's Deputy for Protocol, Press, and Media, Bey Triadi Machmudin, stated at the Presidential Palace here, Monday.
Apart from ensuring that the performance remains unaffected, Machmudin said that Hartono would remain the definitive head of the secretariat despite his acting governorship.
"As the definitive Presidential Secretariat chief, (Hartono) would not be replaced, as we only need (to appoint) executing officers. The most important aspect is that Mr Heru's acting governor duty will not impede the service to Mr President and the first lady," the secretariat deputy remarked.
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While serving as Jakarta's acting governor, the Presidential Secretariat leadership would alternate between him and the secretariat's Deputy for Administration and Palace Management Rika Kiswardani, Machmudin noted.
Machmudin expressed readiness to execute the Presidential Secretariat Chief's duty when Hartono was working as Jakarta's acting governor.
"Our decisions are made for the whole Presidential Secretariat, and we could represent Mr Heru. We now must ensure that the decision-making process will not be impeded, and we have also calculated these risks," he stated.
Meanwhile, Kiswardani said that the Presidential Secretariat had gotten accustomed to online systems, thereby easing the agency's work.
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"Our work mechanism is developed, as the COVID-19 pandemic gave us opportunities to be acclimated with online systems, such as online meetings, online correspondence, and even meetings outside our working days and hours. We hope our activity would be smooth, and we hope for your prayers," Kiswardani remarked.
Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian earlier inaugurated Presidential Secretariat Chief Heru Budi Hartono as acting governor of Jakarta following the end of Anies Baswedan's term of office on October 16, 2022, after being appointed by President Jokowi for the position.
Jokowi entrusted his appointee with three priority issues -- flood management, spatial planning, and traffic jams -- while fulfilling his duties as acting Governor of Jakarta.
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Translator: Desca Lidya N, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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