Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto officially appointed former investment czar Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to lead the national economic council.

Luhut’s comeback to the government took many Indonesians by surprise. The 77-year-old politician previously signaled that he would retire. Luhut took his oath of office as the national economic council chief at the State Palace in Jakarta on Monday. 

“This council is in charge of advising [the government] on economy-related priority programs. Especially since Prabowo wants [the government] to be agile in the programs’ implementation and coordination,” Luhut wrote on his social media, shortly after his inauguration.

The council will serve as an economic think-tank consisting of experts, according to Luhut. He warned that the Indonesian government would face tough economic challenges ahead, including artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, and geopolitics. 

Luhut -- popularly known as "Opung" or the Batak term for "grandpa" -- was the chief investment affairs minister under Ex President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. Jokowi often put Luhut to be in charge of many matters, ranging from the Covid-19 pandemic to palm oil management. Luhut, however, took a two months-long leave in Oct. 2023 due to an undisclosed illness.

Both Luhut and Prabowo shared military backgrounds as retired army generals. Luhut revealed in his social media that Prabowo had asked for his wife’s permission if she would let the former take on the new role.

Prabowo dreams of achieving an 8-percent growth within his first three years of presidency. 

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