TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Prabowo Subianto continues to augment the roster of his Red and White Cabinet as the administration approaches its one-year anniversary, despite the Cabinet having already been significantly expanded since its inauguration last year.
The cabinet size increased after Prabowo inaugurated two new Deputy Ministers at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta on Wednesday, October 8, 2025:
- Akhmad Wiyagus was appointed as Deputy Minister of Home Affairs. This appointment raises the total number of Deputy Ministers of Home Affairs to three, joining Bima Arya Sugiarto and Ribka Haluk.
- Benyamin Paulus Octavianus was inaugurated as Deputy Minister of Health, joining Dante Saksono Harbuwono to fill that position.
In addition to the expanded Deputy Minister roles, President Prabowo established the Executive Committee for Accelerating the Special Autonomy Development of Papua. This new committee is to be chaired by Velix Wanggai and will be supported by nine members.
These nine individuals include John Wempi Wetipo, a former Deputy Minister of Home Affairs; Ignatius Yoko Triyono, a retired general who previously served as Commander of the Cenderawasih Military Command; Juharson Estrella Sihasale (also known as Ari Sihasale), a film artist and former Gerindra legislative candidate in Papua; and Paulus Waterpauw, a former high-ranking police officer who served as the Papua Regional Police Chief.
Other members of the committee are Ribka Haluk, who also holds the title of Deputy Minister of Home Affairs; Ali Hamdan Bogra, a retired Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) officer who served as the Kasuari Military District Commander; John Gluba Gebze, a former Regent of Merauke; Yanni, the Chairperson of the Gerindra Regional Representative Council for Papua; and Billy Mambrasar, who previously served as a special staff member for millennial affairs under the preceding administration of President Jokowi.
Other recent additions include the formation of the Coastal Sea Barrier Management Authority for the North Coast of Java, led by Didit Herdiawan Ashaf on August 25, 2025, and the appointment of Ahmad Dofiri as Special Presidential Advisor for Security, Public Order, and Police Reform on September 17, 2025.
Prior to these recent additions, the Red and White Cabinet, inaugurated on October 21, 2025, already comprised 48 ministers, 5 agency heads, and 55 deputy ministers.
State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi defended the expansion, stating that the addition of deputy ministers and new agencies is an adjustment based on governmental needs.
"On one hand, when we feel that there are several agencies whose functions are now redundant in the ministries, there is no problem in merging them," Prasetyo said in Jakarta on Friday, October 17, 2025.
Expert Critique
Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, Head of the LAB 45 study institute, believes that the cabinet's expansion reflects Prabowo's efforts to broaden his sphere of power and manage political stability by distributing positions and rewarding loyalty.
"In this regard, President Prabowo is building a broader support structure, but with the risk of fragmenting policy direction," said Pramodhawardani. She argued that a bloated cabinet creates a paradox where effectiveness and coordination become more challenging.
She added that bureaucratic reform, which should prioritize efficiency and meritocracy, is instead being used for political accommodation. "This is not just a technocratic failure, but a failure in the way we view the state itself," she asserted.
However, she noted that a bloated cabinet paradoxically creates a challenging scenario where increased size correlates with reduced efficacy, making it significantly more difficult to ensure effective coordination and policy consistency. She contends that bureaucratic reform, which should ideally prioritize efficiency and meritocracy, is instead being steered towards political accommodation.
"This is not just a technocratic failure, but a failure in the way we view the state itself," she asserted.
Jaleswari stated that as long as the bureaucracy is treated as a tool to balance political elites and not as an instrument for public service, it is not impossible for the President to be tempted to add more positions rather than reduce them.
Conversely, Firman Noor, a political researcher at the National Agency for Research and Innovation, views the additions as a means to accelerate the government's ambitious programs. He suggested that the new deputy minister roles and agencies to boost implementation speed.
However, Firman shares Pramodhawardani’s concern that adding new agencies risks overlapping with the existing government structure, leading to inefficient work. He argued that the government should instead empower and continuously evaluate existing institutions to increase their effectiveness during this economic crisis.
Firman concluded by noting that Prabowo may also find it difficult to fully dedicate attention to all members of his enlarged cabinet, as it is well known that he typically works with a smaller, trusted inner circle for strategic programs.
Hendrik Yaputra contributed to the report
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