Indonesia appoints labour union chief as new environment minister

[JAKARTA] Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has appointed a labour union chief as the country’s new environment minister, the palace said on Monday (Apr 27), replacing Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, who oversaw several high profile environment-related probes since taking office in late 2024.

New Environment Minister Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, chief of All-Indonesia Workers’ Union Confederation, is best known for having led protests against former President Suharto in the 1990s.

In 2021, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for attempting to stir unrest, and he backed Prabowo’s opponent in the 2024 presidential election.

Jumhur’s predecessor Hanif has been moved to the post of deputy minister at the coordinating ministry for food affairs, the palace said.

During his eighteen-month stint as minister, Hanif, a former bureaucrat, oversaw civil lawsuits against companies accused of massive environmental damage that worsened floods in northern Sumatra late last year, as well as the handling of radioactive contamination at a sprawling industrial zone near Jakarta, which ultimately affected exports to the United States.

The government eventually revoked the permits of 28 firms after they were found responsible for environmental damage that worsened the Sumatran floods, which killed at least 1,200 people.

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The environment ministry under Hanif also launched an investigation into alleged mismanagement of rainwater at a West Java integrated resort that is home to a Trump Organisation golf course.

In the reshuffle, Prabowo also swore in Muhammad Qodari as the new chief of the government’s communications office and former army chief Dudung Abdurachman as the new presidential chief of staff. REUTERS