Prospective Ministers with Red Marks Must Be Revealed: Observer

Jakarta (Antara) - President Joko Widodo should announce the names of prospective ministers who were given red marks by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), a political observer has said. "It has been reported that some prospective ministers were given yellow marks and some got red marks. Their names must be made public in order to avoid negative speculations about those who received no red marks and yet were not appointed ministers," Nanat Fatah Natsir, director of the Nusantara Madani Institute, stated here on Monday. President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) announced 34 ministers for his Working Cabinet on Sunday. Before finalizing his cabinet lineup, he had submitted 43 names of prospective ministers to the KPK for background checks. In its report, the KPK gave yellow and red marks to prospective ministers who they thought had the potential to be involved in legal or corruption cases. Jokowi replaced eight prospective ministers based on the KPK's scrutiny. Nanat, who is also a former rector of the Bandung-based State Islamic University, noted that since his inauguration last Monday, President Jokowi had invited a number of people who were believed to be nominated as prospective ministers. It is said that the list of prospective ministers had the names of those invited by the President but they did not figure in the final announcement on Sunday evening. "Have they all got red marks from the KPK?. It will be believable if they say one person was not named as minister because he or she rejected the offer, but not all," Nanat remarked. (*)