Tug of war in Jokowi's inner circle

Luhut's assumption of Arcandra's role is seen as boosting his standing, which had appeared to have slumped when he relinquished the post of Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs following the reshuffle last month.

As the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut has to work closely with ministers who have strong links with the political elite. They include Tourism Affairs Minister Arief Yahya, a former CEO of a state-owned telco giant who is widely known to be close to Ms Rini, and Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti, a long-time friend of Megawati Soekarnoputri, the chairman of the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party for Struggle, who has never been fully supportive of Joko appointing Luhut as a minister.

With the rivalry between the two camps, the President needs to keep the ministers' power in check, according to observers including Muradi, who teaches at Padjadjaran University.

For Hendropriyono and Luhut, both are former army generals who are from different political factions - but both own family businesses that operate in the energy sector.

"In July, the pendulum swung towards Hendropriyono, and this time around it swung towards Luhut. This is part of Jokowi's power play to ensure that each of the two very powerful men would always rely on the President," Muradi said, referring to Joko's popular nickname. (Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja)