President Prabowo Subianto has once again restructured the Red and\nWhite Cabinet in his seventh reshuffle, conducted on Thursday\n(1\/10\/2026). Several strategic positions in the economic sector have\nchanged for the remainder of the 2024-2029 term. This includes the\nMinister of Industry, now held by M. Sarmuji, and the position of\nCoordinating Minister for Downstreaming and Energy Transition, which has\nbeen entrusted to Bahlil Lahadalia in a dual role.<\/p>\n
These changes have drawn significant attention from the business\ncommunity. The Chairwoman of the Indonesian Employers Association\n(Apindo), Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, stated that the most important factor\nfor businesses is not merely who occupies the positions, but how the\ngovernment maintains policy continuity and regulatory certainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cCabinet changes or adjustments are the prerogative and authority of\nthe President. From a business perspective, the most vital aspects are\nhow stability, the continuity of existing good policies, regulatory\ncertainty, and the effectiveness of government coordination and\nexecution are maintained following these changes,\u201d Shinta told CNBC\nIndonesia on Friday (2\/10\/2026).<\/p>\n
According to her, certainty is a crucial factor for the business\nworld because decisions regarding investment, production capacity\nexpansion, and job creation are made based on medium- and long-term\ncalculations. Therefore, Shinta hopes the transition process following\nthe reshuffle occurs swiftly and does not create a hiatus in the\nimplementation of ongoing economic policies.<\/p>\n
Shinta also highlighted the importance of cross-ministerial\ncoordination. She noted that many challenges currently faced by the\nbusiness sector are not isolated but involve multiple sectors\nsimultaneously.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe change in officials should serve as a momentum to further\nstrengthen cross-ministerial coordination. Many business issues today\nare cross-sectoral, ranging from investment, industry, trade, energy,\nand fiscal matters to labour,\u201d she said. \u201cTherefore, the consistency of\npolicy direction and inter-agency coordination is just as important as\nthe policies themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Avoid Changing Regulations<\/strong><\/p>\n Shinta mentioned several agendas that must be maintained by the new\nministers. One of these is safeguarding purchasing power and domestic\ndemand, which remains a primary pillar of the Indonesian economy.<\/p>\n Additionally, the government needs to strengthen the competitiveness\nof the real sector and industry. This includes ensuring the certainty of\nenergy supply and prices, the availability of raw materials, logistical\nefficiency, access to financing, and trade policies capable of\nsupporting increased domestic production capacity.<\/p>\n The business community, she added, is also focused on the certainty\nand simplification of regulations and licensing.<\/p>\n \u201cCertainty and the simplification of regulations and licensing are\nkey. The business world requires predictable policies and consistent\nimplementation. Frequent policy changes or inconsistent implementation\ncan increase the cost and risk of doing business,\u201d Shinta explained.<\/p>\n Shinta emphasised that ongoing agendas\u2014including downstreaming,\nindustrialisation, increased investment, export expansion, and job\ncreation\u2014must continue without losing momentum.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Vice Chairman for Organisation, Communication, and\nRegional Empowerment of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry\n(Kadin), Erwin Aksa, also requested that official changes do not cause\nexisting government programmes to revert to square one.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the significant number of changes in ministerial and\ncoordinating ministerial positions recently, we hope that\ninter-ministerial coordination becomes even stronger. The business world\nrequires consistent and integrated policies, as investment decisions\ntypically have a long-term horizon,\u201d said Erwin when contacted\nseparately.<\/p>\n \u201cWe must ensure that changes in officials do not cause well-running\nprogrammes to start from the beginning, or lead to overly frequent\npolicy changes,\u201d he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/prabowo-reshuffles-ministers-two-business-leaders-warn-against-policy-instability-1790945519",
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