DPR Leadership Cannot Consider Changes in Ministerial Nomenclature

Jakarta (Antara) -- The leadership of the House of Representatives (DPR) cannot consider the letter from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, which sought its recommendations on a change in ministerial nomenclature, a lawmaker said. "The DPR leadership could not give its consideration to the president in the absence of parliamentary bodies because this is the task of the House Commission II," a member of the Golkar Party faction in the DPR, Bambang Soesatyo, said here on Thursday. Soesatyo added that the DPR chairman should remind President Jokowi that as per the law, he cannot announce his cabinet lineup with the current nomenclature until seven days from the day the DPR received the letter. If the DPR does not give its consideration within seven days of receiving the letter, the president can go ahead and make the lineup of his ministers public, he noted. "The House Commission II can summon the president to clarify any changes in the ministerial nomenclature because this is not the authority of the DPR leadership," he explained. Soesatyo further stated that Jokowi's letter to the DPR leadership made no mention of the coordinating ministry for maritime affairs. "I heard that the transition team had informed the DPR leadership that there would be a new coordinating ministry for maritime affairs in the cabinet. The president must clarify why he wishes to change and merge ministries," he said. (*)