Jakarta. President-Elect Prabowo Subianto reportedly plans to set up a 44-member cabinet that could be both a boon and a bane to Indonesia’s economy, according to experts.

 According to economist Yusuf Rendy Manilet,  the cabinet expansion will mean that the incoming government will set aside a larger budget to run its programs next year. The government has been allocating a large portion of the state budget to meet the needs of ministries and agencies.

“So if there are plans for the addition of new ministries and government bodies, this will mean a larger spending for its human capital and its goods procurement,” Yusuf said.

Esther Sri Astuti, an economist at the think-tank Indef, also warned of the larger government spending that would come with the larger cabinet. 

“What the government needs to do is to be efficient. By efficiency, it does not mean being efficient in development or capital spending. But to make sure that they are being efficient on their regular expenditure. This is doable if they cut down on the cabinet size and the number of ministries. Having a bigger cabinet will only be a burden,” Esther said.

However, the cabinet expansion also has its benefits, according to Yusuf. The more the ministries, the larger the state revenue that Indonesia is set to receive.

“But that depends on the incoming government and the policies that they make. This includes policies related to if [Prabowo decides] to proceed with his plans to establish a state revenue agency,” Yusuf said.

There is also a likelihood that the bigger cabinet can help boost the Indonesian economy. But for Indonesia to unlock the growth booster from the cabinet expansion, the government would need to make sure that there is a robust synergy between the incumbent Jokowi-Ma’ruf Amin government and that of the upcoming Prabowo-Gibran Rakabuming Raka cabinet. 

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