Indonesia president expected to announce cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday: sources

By Kanupriya Kapoor and Cindy Silviana

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesian President Joko Widodo is expected to announce his second cabinet reshuffle in less than two years on Wednesday, two sources close to the matter said.

When asked whether the announcement would be made on Wednesday, a palace official, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said: “Yes”.

A second source close to the matter confirmed that a reshuffle would be announced on Wednesday.

Neither source said which ministers would be replaced. Widodo met a number of his ministers late on Tuesday at the presidential palace in central Jakarta.

The reshuffle comes nearly a year after Widodo replaced key members of his economics team in an effort to boost investor confidence over a flagging economy.

A year on, analysts say this week’s reshuffle is likely to be politically motivated as Widodo seeks to consolidate support from parties that have been keen to join the ruling coalition.

“There is the need to acknowledge the support of parties like Golkar which have thrown their weight behind his government,” said Keith Loveard of Jakarta-based Concord Consulting, referring to Indonesia’s second biggest political party.

“Assuming his choices are good ones the public will accept this as part of fine-tuning and a normal part of the political process,” he added.

(Additional reporting by Randy Fabi; Editing by Alison Williams)