New Indonesian president super sizes cabinet

Prabowo announced his cabinet at the presidential palace late on Sunday following his inauguration.

The line up of 109 ministers, vice ministers and head of national agencies was the largest in the country's history.

The cabinet of his predecessor, had 34 ministers and head of government agencies.

Analysts say that his "fat" cabinet would bloat the bureaucracy.

The cabinet will be sworn in on Monday morning.

Earlier on Sunday, wearing a traditional black hat and navy suit with a woven maroon and golden sarong, Prabowo officially became Indonesia's eighth president after he was sworn in during a ceremony at Indonesia's parliament.

Prabowo, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidency twice before, said in a fiery speech to lawmakers that he would be president for all Indonesians and challenged the nation to help him face down the country's problems.

"We must always realise that a free nation is where the people are free," Prabowo said, at times raising his voice.

"They must be freed of fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, oppression, suffering," he said.

In a wide-ranging speech lasting about an hour, Prabowo said self-sufficiency for food was possible within five years, while also pledging to boost energy production.

The new president vowed to eradicate corruption and said that while he wanted to live in a democracy, it must be "polite".

Prabowo won the February 14 contest with nearly 60 per cent of the vote and has spent the past nine months building a formidable parliamentary coalition.

He was joined in the swearing-in ceremony by his running mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37, the eldest son of outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

After his speech, Prabowo wore a baseball cap and waved through a car sunroof as he made his way to the presidential palace, passing thousands of flag-waving supporters thronging Jakarta's streets in a festival-like atmosphere.

Newly-inaugurated Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto wants to improve energy and food production. (AP PHOTO)

Flower boards outside the palace either congratulated Prabowo and Gibran or thanked Jokowi for his decade of service.

Jokowi has left an indelible mark on the nation of 280 million, presiding over a period of strong economic growth and massive infrastructure development.

Critics also say, though, his rule has been marked by a rise in old-time patronage and dynastic politics, and they warn about diminished integrity in courts and other state institutions.

Indonesian police and military have put in place strict security measures, deploying at least 100,000 personnel across the city, including snipers and anti-riot units.

Prabowo met with foreign dignitaries, including a number of heads of state, on Sunday at the presidential palace.

Today, I had the honour of representing Australia at the inauguration of President Prabowo here in Jakarta, Indonesia. — Richard Marles (@RichardMarlesMP) pic.twitter.com/ELdqlaLEu5October 20, 2024

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles attended the inauguration.

"It has been fantastic to forge a relationship as defence ministers and I look forward to working with Bapak Prabowo's administration to strengthen the relationship between our two countries," Mr Marles said in a post on X.

Prabowo also touched on foreign policy during his speech, saying Indonesia was non-aligned on the global stage, but that he stood in support of the Palestinian people and said Jakarta was ready to send more aid to Gaza.

During his campaign, Prabowo billed himself to voters and investors alike as the "continuity candidate".

Past allegations against Prabowo of involvement in the kidnapping of student activists and human rights abuses in Papua and East Timor, however, have also raised concern about Indonesia's trajectory of democracy, human rights advocates say.

Prabowo has always denied the allegations that led to his dismissal from the military in 1998, the same year Indonesia broke free from the decades-long authoritarian rule of former President Suharto. 

with AP