Gita Wirjawan: I was Asked by SBY and Gladly Accepted It

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono nominated a new trade minister Monday, in a major cabinet reshuffle expected to be finalised this week as he battles plunging approval ratings.

At a news conference held by cabinet nominees at the presidential palace, Gita Wirjawan, the nation’s investment chief, said that he is set to replace Mari Pangestu as the minister of trade.

“I was asked by the president at a meeting earlier and was given new duties as minister of trade, and I gladly accepted it,” said Wirjawan, who is likely to quit as head of the Investment Coordinating Board for his cabinet post.

Yudhoyono’s approval ratings have fallen below 50 percent in recent polls, amid allegations of graft at the highest levels of government. The cabinet changes mark the first major reshuffle in his second and final term as president, which started in 2009.

Among other nominations, Marciano Norman, an army commander is set to take over as the country’s new intelligence chief. Yudhoyono is expected to formally announce the new appointments Tuesday and the swearing-in will happen the following day, his spokesman said.

Yudhoyono has won two elections on promises of continued growth in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, bureaucratic reforms to improve governance and attract investment, and a renewed commitment to fight deeply entrenched corruption. His Democratic Party won 20 percent of votes in the 2009 legislative polls to become the strongest party in parliament.