Meeting to discuss ministry nomenclature postponed

JAKARTA. House of Representatives leaders have postponed a meeting scheduled to take place on Saturday with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo to discuss changes to the names of several ministries.

Transition team deputy chief Andi Widjajanto said that the House’s leaders had cancelled the meeting in observance of the Islamic new year on Saturday.

“The meeting will be conducted tomorrow [Sunday],” Andi said on Saturday as quoted by kompas.com.

House speaker Setya Novanto said on Wednesday that the House had received Jokowi’s letter detailing the changes in the nomenclature of the ministries.

The DPR speaker added that the sending of the letter was in line with mechanisms regulated by Article 17 (4) of the 1945 Constitution and Article 6 of Law No.39/2008 on state ministries. The articles stipulate that the establishment of ministries by a new administration must take place within 14 days of its inauguration.

Setya reiterated that, as stated in Article 17 of the 1945 Constitution, the nomenclature of three ministries, namely the Foreign Affairs Ministry, the Home Affairs Ministry and the Defense Ministry, were permanent in nature.

In September, Jokowi and then vice president-elect Jusuf Kalla announced that they would establish three new ministries, namely the Agrarian Ministry, the Population Ministry and the Creative Economy Ministry.

They also promised to change the names of several ministries: the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ministry would become the Maritime Ministry, the Public Works Ministry the Infrastructure Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry the Agriculture and Food Sovereignty Ministry and the Education and Culture Ministry the Research, Technology and Higher Education Ministry.(alz/dic)