Jakarta. Supratman Andi Agtas was appointed as the new justice minister on Monday, succeeding Yasonna Laoly, who had held the position for the past decade.

Yasonna, an executive of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), has seen his party’s relationship with President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo become distant since the last election. 

Supratman is a senior politician from the Great Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra), whose chairman, Prabowo Subianto, is set to succeed Jokowi in two months. Gerindra and Prabowo have emerged as close allies of Jokowi, especially after Prabowo chose the president's son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, as his running mate in the February 14 presidential election.

Despite speculation, Supratman dismissed claims that his ministerial appointment during Jokowi's final months in office was influenced by political bargaining or favoritism towards pro-government parties.

"The appointment is solely the president's prerogative -- there’s no such thing as a 'government political party.' The president has entrusted me with this responsibility," Supratman said after being sworn in as a cabinet member at the State Palace in Jakarta.

"Mr. Yasonna is a good friend, and we spoke last night. I assured him that I wouldn’t change all of his policies. My goal is to fine-tune and continue the positive initiatives he established."

Supratman also revealed that both Jokowi and Prabowo had separately briefed him on his new role.

"My main priority is to reform the legal system, particularly addressing the overlapping laws and regulations. The president wants me to harmonize and integrate these conflicting laws to eliminate institutional conflicts," Supratman said.

He added that Prabowo advised him to "defend the republic" and "maintain integrity" while serving as justice minister.
 

Add as a preferred source on Google +