PAN: Don't Read Into Prabowo-Gibran Seating Arrangement

The National Mandate Party (PAN) has called on the public not to read into the seating arrangement of President Prabowo Subianto and Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka during a recent plenary cabinet session. PAN Deputy Chairman Saleh Partaonan Daulay stated that the matter should not be interpreted politically. “Everything is fine. There is nothing bad. So there is no need to interpret it left or right,” Saleh said on Wednesday (22/7/2026). He stressed that the most important thing was that no rules were violated and urged all parties to refocus on their work, noting that many tasks still await. He added that it is better to meet the President’s targets than to speculate about things that may not be accurate.

The seating arrangement drew public attention after President Prabowo chaired a cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday (20/7). During the session, Prabowo’s desk was placed in the centre facing the cabinet members, who were seated in a U-shape formation. Unlike previous meetings where the Vice President sat parallel to the President, Gibran was seated among the ministers. Minister of State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi clarified that the layout was adjusted solely for technical reasons, as the President required a teleprompter to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the government’s performance over the past semester.

Prasetyo Hadi dismissed any narratives linking the seating arrangement to subordination within the government. He insisted that the entire cabinet is united and working hard to achieve the President’s directives and national priorities. “There is nothing, absolutely nothing. We are currently in a very solid state, all striving hard to achieve what the President has outlined, purely for the interests of the people, the nation, and the state,” he said. He urged the public to focus on the substance of the President’s message, which included an evaluation of the Red and White Cabinet’s achievements over the past 21 months.