The Cowboy Minister Loses His Seat

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Panic suddenly spread among Finance Ministry officials on Thursday, September 10, 2026. That day, the ministry’s Secretariat-General announced that hundreds of employees, from staff members to echelon II officials, would be reassigned. Some would take new positions, move from one directorate-general to another, or even relocate to offices outside Java.

Before noon, the Finance Ministry informed journalists that a swearing-in ceremony for new officials would take place at 11:30am in the Mezzanine Hall of Djuanda I Building, part of the Finance Ministry complex in the Lapangan Banteng area of Central Jakarta. “We apologize for the very short notice. Anyone who wants to cover it is welcome,” an official from the ministry’s Bureau of Communications and Information Services said in a text message.

At the building, two Finance Ministry officials affected by the reshuffle told Tempo they had been given no chance to prepare. One of them only learned that he was expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony that day after he had already arrived at the office. The official was being transferred to another directorate-general. He had come to work that day without wearing a batik shirt and scrambled around looking for one to borrow so he could attend the ceremony.

Another official received an even bigger shock, he was being sent to eastern Indonesia. He had received no invitation to the swearing-in ceremony. The official learned that he was on the transfer list from a colleague. News of his new position and posting arrived almost simultaneously with the ceremony.