I’ve done my best: Rizal Ramli

JAKARTA. Coordinating Maritime Affairs Minister Rizal Ramli expressed his thanks to the Indonesian people via his Twitter account on Wednesday after the announcement of his sacking in a Cabinet reshuffle, the second since President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo took office.

“I’ve done my best for the Indonesian nation and people. Thank you, Indonesian people,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.

Rizal replaced predecessor Indroyono Soesilo in August 2015.

President Jokowi announced the names of new ministers appointed in his second Cabinet reshuffle at the State Palace in Jakarta at 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday

Rizal is replaced by Luhut Pandjaitan, who previously served as coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister.

The reason for Jokowi’s decision to replace Rizal is not known; however, Rizal often made controversial statements and disclosed differences of perception among Cabinet ministers to the public.

In his first days in his position, Rizal was at odds with State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno on the purchasing of 350 Airbus planes for national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia. Rizal also came into conflict with Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said on several issues, such as the extension of the work contract for gold and copper miner PT Freeport Indonesia, a 35,000-Megawatt electricity power plant project and development options for the Masela block in the Arafura Sea.

Recently, Rizal also fell out with Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama over reclamation projects in Jakarta Bay.

Of his remarks on Wednesday, President Jokowi said he wanted a Cabinet whose members would work solidly to tackle the challenges Indonesia was facing.