Former military general Prabowo Subianto has been sworn in as Indonesia’s president, as he announced the country’s largest cabinet since the 1960s.
The 73-year-old, who had been dogged by allegations of human rights abuse for decades, was inagurated on Sunday as the country’s eighth president.
This spells the end of an era under former leader Joko Widodo, known locally as Jokowi, who presided over a decade of economic growth and infrastructure development.
Having failed twice to become president, Prabowo finally clawed his way to the highest office after winning over 58% of the vote in February’s elections, against two rivals.
Prabowo was sworn in with his running mate Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.
More than 30 leaders attended the inauguration, including British foreign minister David Lammy, Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong.
He named 48 ministers and 58 vice-ministers in his new cabinet, compared with 34 ministers and 30 vice-ministers under Jokowi. They were officially sworn in on Monday afternoon.
Some observers believe Prabowo’s cabinet make-up – with 17 of the 48 ministers re-appointed from Jokowi’s cabinet – was a “political reward” to his predecessor, whose tacit support is said to have propelled Prabowo’s electoral victory.
The re-appointments include that of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.
“It seems that Prabowo wants to repay those who supported him politically rather than prioritising institutional reforms,” public policy scholar Lina Miftahul Jannah told BBC Indonesian.
