Profile: Panel Barus Steps Down from Projo to Focus on Prabowo

Panel Barus, deputy chairman of the Pro Jokowi (Projo) volunteer organisation, officially resigned from his post and membership of Projo on Wednesday (11 November).

Panel said he was stepping down to focus more closely on advancing Prabowo’s agenda through his role as Deputy for Cooperative Business Development at the Ministry of Cooperatives.

“I want to make clear here that my focus is on advancing the people-centred agendas championed by President Prabowo,” Panel said.

His decision to leave Projo was also accompanied by a decision to stop taking part in practical politics.

Panel said he was confident Projo would continue under its new leadership.

“I hope our ties will remain strong, because what President Prabowo’s administration is fighting for is in line with what we all aspire to,” he said.

Panel Barus has been active in practical politics, the Pro Jokowi volunteer organisation and the Prabowo-Gibran administration.

According to the official website of NasDem Jakarta, Panel was elected chairman of the East Jakarta Regional Leadership Council (DPD) of NasDem in 2018. That year, he also ran as a legislative candidate for the East Jakarta 6 electoral district for the Jakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD).

In 2023, however, Panel was removed from NasDem’s list of prospective legislative candidates. Between 2022 and 2024, he frequently appeared in news reports as Projo’s treasurer-general.

Panel has often spoken out on issues involving Indonesia’s seventh president, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), and the Projo volunteer community.

In 2023, Panel was elected head of Projo’s Presidential Election Victory Agency (Bapilpres). He was also listed as a deputy chairman of the National Campaign Team (TKN) for the Prabowo-Gibran ticket.

The TKN role led Panel to resign from his position as a commissioner at a state-owned enterprise in November 2023.

Two years later, in January 2025, Panel was appointed Deputy for Cooperative Business Development at the Ministry of Cooperatives. He was sworn in by Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi.

DetikNews reported that Budi Arie said Panel’s appointment as an official at the ministry had received approval from President Prabowo Subianto.

Panel’s resignation from Projo coincided with Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s resignation as Indonesia’s vice-president. Panel has now shifted his focus to supporting the Prabowo administration.