"The cabinet reshuffle is one of the best bridges to meet my promises to the people," Jokowi said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - President Joko Widodo defended the cabinet reshuffle that he had made on Wednesday, saying that it was the bridge for meeting his promises to improve the welfare and quality of life of all Indonesians.

"The cabinet reshuffle is one of the best bridges to meet my promises to the people," the head of state told the annual plenary meeting of the Peoples Consultative Assembly (MPR) here Friday morning.

The cabinet reshuffle was expected to improve the governments performance so that the national development could be accelerated, he said.

President Joko Widodo, however, admitted that the government still undergoes various challenges, including the unstable food prices, inequality of prosperity between the rich and poor people, and disparity among regions.

In meeting his promises, the government would work very hard, he said adding that the government maintains its neutrality in dealing with the political parties internal conflicts.

"These problems are expected to be resolved well," he said.

President Joko Widodo on August 12 reshuffled his working cabinet by installing six figures, including Rizal Ramli to replace Indroyono Susilo as the coordinating maritime affairs minister.

Five others who were installed by the president were Sofyan Djalil who replaced Andrinof Chaniago as head of the National Development Planning Minister/National Development Planning Board (Bappenas), Luhut Pandjaitan, Darmin Nasution, Pramono Anung, and Thomas Lembong.

Luhut Pandjaitan, a retired general and presidential chief of staff, replaced Tedjo Edhy Purdijanto as the coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister while Darmin Nasution, former Bank Indonesia governor, took the position of Sofyan Djalil as the coordinating economic minister.

Pramono Anung, a senior politician of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), replaced Andi Widjajanto as the cabinet secretary, and Thomas Lembong, a former official of the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (BPPN), took the position of Rachmat Gobel as the trade minister.

Besides President Joko Widodo, Vice President Jusuf Kalla, former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, former president BJ Habibie, and a number of former vice president also attended the MPRs annual plenary meeting, held ahead of the 70th anniversary of Indonesias Independence.

For the head of state, this is the first time for him to attend the MPRs annual plenary meeting ahead of the countrys independence day anniversary since his innauguration as the president in October 2014.

President Joko Widodos presence at the MPRs annual meeting is part of his official activities on Friday.

At the same venue, he also delivered his first state-of-the-nation address as the seventh president before members of the House of Representatives (DPR) and Regional Representatives Council (DPD) at their joined meeting.

In his state-of-the-nation address, he also reiterated his reasons for reshuffling his working cabinet. The head of state also delivers his speech on the 2016 state budget draft at the DPRs plenary meeting.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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