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JAKARTA: Indonesia’s president has replaced key economic and security ministers in a surprise cabinet reshuffle, following deadly anti-government protests that rocked Southeast Asia’s biggest economy in recent weeks.  

At least 10 people were killed in mass protests that broke out in Jakarta in late August. Sparked by controversial perks and housing allowances for lawmakers, the demonstrations turned violent and spread across the country after an armed police vehicle ran over and killed a 21-year-old delivery driver.

Posing the biggest challenge yet for the presidency of Prabowo Subianto, who took office less than a year ago, protesters demanded sweeping reforms across various institutions, including the police, military and House of Representatives.

The president’s cabinet reshuffle on Monday also followed calls for the government to address economic hardships, mass layoffs and declining purchasing power, and implement a fairer taxation system.

State Secretariat Minister Prasetyo Hadi told reporters that the president “has decided to make changes” in the cabinet.

“After some evaluation, he decided on a formation change,” Hadi said, as he announced the removal of five ministers.

Among the removed cabinet members are Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and Budi Gunawan, the coordinating minister for politics and security. The ministers of cooperatives, youth and sport, and migrant workers protection were also replaced.

While Prabowo has yet to name a new chief security minister, Indrawati’s removal followed days of speculation after her home was among those looted by a mob at the height of recent protests.

She was one of Indonesia’s longest-serving ministers and has served under three presidents. The former World Bank executive was first appointed by former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2005, and then by President Joko Widodo in 2016, with Prabowo retaining her in the post last October. 

Some experts, including Bhima Yudhistira of the Center of Economic and Law Studies, see Indrawati’s exit as a “positive development” for the Indonesian economy.

“The demand to remove Sri Mulyani has long been voiced by various think tanks and civil societies as a criticism of her inability to push for a fair taxation system, careful spending, and rising debt burdens that increasingly narrow fiscal space,” he told Arab News.

Yudhistira said that the new finance minister has a list of “urgent tasks” to restore public trust, such as lowering value-added tax and restructuring government debt.

Indrawati is being replaced by economist Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa, who previously served as chairman of the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corp.

An alliance of at least 383 Indonesian economists is now urging the government to adopt a comprehensive economic policy that will ensure inclusive growth, create quality jobs and guarantee decent living for the country’s over 280 million population.

“The wave of protests … is a blaring alarm for our economic and social conditions today. This situation did not come suddenly. What happened was results accumulated from economic policies, decision-making processes and governance that were far from responsible,” Lili Yan Ing, economist and spokesperson of the Alliance of Indonesian Economists, said in a press conference on Tuesday. 

“Indonesian economists are of the view that the direction our country is headed is getting further away from our dream as a nation, which is to achieve social justice for all the people.”