Analyst Suggests Prabowo Should Have More Problem-Solving Oriented Ministers

Political analyst Hendri Satrio has suggested that President Prabowo Subianto choose more ministers who work hard and engage in little image-building. According to Hensa, his familiar nickname, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya could serve as an example of a figure within Prabowo’s government who works without excessively cultivating his public image. He observed that Teddy tends to appear precisely when the government needs a problem resolved or an issue explained.

“In my view, Prabowo today needs to choose more ministers whose working style resembles Teddy’s. Teddy is a worker. He genuinely works, without much image-building. What shows is that he is busy working, solving problems, and when the government needs someone to step forward and provide explanations, he is there,” Hensa said in a statement on Monday (7/9/2026).

The founder of survey institute KedaiKOPI said the impression of Teddy as a busy, hard-working figure has even emerged in conversations among the younger generation.

According to him, a number of political figures are frequently given certain labels by Gen Z based on the image attached to them in the public sphere.

“Among Gen Z there are certain nicknames. Ganjar, for instance, is associated with sport, always out running. Anies is called unemployed, Gibran is called empty. Teddy, on the other hand, is described as busy working. I find this interesting, because even Gen Z children acknowledge that the symbol of a hard-working person in today’s government is Teddy,” Hensa said.

For that reason, he believes Prabowo needs more aides with a similar character — people who work more than they build their personal image.

“The point is Prabowo needs more ministers like Teddy. More work, less image-building, busy getting things done. If even Gen Z sees Teddy as the symbol of a busy worker, it means a public perception has genuinely formed from what they have observed all this time,” he said.

Hensa also assessed that Teddy has become one of the figures in Prabowo’s circle who frequently steps forward to explain and shield the government when problems arise that should have been clarified by the relevant ministries.

“In my view, Prabowo’s ministers and Pak Prabowo himself should be grateful to someone named Teddy. Even though many people sneer and are envious, I very often see this man putting his body on the line for Prabowo’s ministers,” Hensa said.

He cited how Teddy has several times had to provide explanations on issues that actually fell within the remit of other ministries.

According to him, Teddy often took on the role when the public needed clarification on government programmes that should have been answered directly by the relevant officials.

“For example, the MBG programme drawing on the education budget. The Education Minister should have been the one speaking. Instead, he was the one who spoke. Teddy said, ‘So here is the situation: it has been agreed with the DPR that the education budget exists, and the MBG budget is within the education budget.’ And then he was the one who got bullied. Are the ministers grateful? No. But he just stays calm,” Hensa said.

Therefore, he takes the view that Prabowo needs more aides who dare to take responsibility for communication and who work to ensure the President does not continually bear alone the political burden of the government’s various problems.

“Perhaps for him, what matters is that Prabowo stays safe. So Prabowo ought to have even more ministers like Teddy. People who work when there is work, who step forward when there is a problem, rather than being busy protecting their own image,” he said.

On the other hand, Hensa sees a quality gap between the President and some of his ministers. This condition, he said, is also reflected in the government’s weak communication when facing problems.

“I would name three major problems in Pak Prabowo’s government: the economy, the law, and communication. The communication is terrible, unlike the Jokowi era. And in my view, one of the things that must be fixed immediately is the quality gap between Prabowo and his team, his ministers,” Hensa said.

He even considers a cabinet reshuffle to be one of the steps Prabowo should consider. He described replacing ministers as the earliest tactical move to improve government performance.

“Replacing the ministers is number one. In the legal, economic, and political spheres, they should all be replaced,” Hensa said.

In his view, Prabowo need not be overly bound by seat-sharing interests if these actually hinder the effectiveness of government.

He believes the President should choose people who are loyal, capable of working with him, and able to communicate directly with him.

“In my view, Prabowo does not need to insist on dividing up seats so that everyone is happy. It would be better for Pak Prabowo to choose ministers who are genuinely loyal to him, can work with him, and can also talk with him. That would be comfortable. The government could also move more quickly,” he said.

He believes the sheer number of problems ultimately borne directly by Prabowo could politically harm the President. Hensa compared this with the previous administration, when policy mistakes or controversies were not always immediately placed on the president’s shoulders.

“In my view, Prabowo’s strength at present, but also his weakness, is that he puts his body on the line far too often for his ministers’ shortcomings. So when the people are angry and frustrated, it is Prabowo who gets blamed, not his ministers. That is why he needs more people who can genuinely work and help protect his government, rather than adding to the President’s burden,” he concluded.