Indonesian President appoints interim governor of South Sulawesi

Makassar, The Gulf Observer: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) appointed Director General of Politics and Public Administration of Home Affairs Ministry Bachtiar Baharuddin as South Sulawesi interim governor, replacing Andi Sudirman Sulaiman whose term of office ends on September 5.

“It is right. He has become interim Governor of South Sulawesi and will be inaugurated soon,” Presidential Staff Office’s Expert Staff, Ali Mochtar Ngabalin stated when confirmed by reporters from Makassar on Friday.

The decision was taken after Jokowi led the Final Assessment Team (TPA) in determining 10 names of interim governors for regions, including South Sulawesi.

The inauguration by the home affairs minister will be held in the near future and will be followed by the handover of positions in each provinces.

“Greetings and prayers for brother (Bachtiar) from the spokesperson of the Indonesian Presidential Staff Office,” Ngabalin remarked.

Head of the Information Center (Kapuspen) at the ministry Benny Irwan stated that Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian had reported to the president regarding the proposed name of the interim governor.

The working period for Bachtiar, who also former acting governor of the Riau Island (Kepri), and nine other interim governors began after inauguration until the end of 2024 following the Regional Head Election (Pilkada) on November 27, 2024.

The 10 names of interim governors are Bey Machmudin in West Java, Nana Sudjana in Central Java, Hasanuddin in North Sumatra, Sang Made Mahendra in Bali, Ridwan Rumasukun in Papua, Ayodhia Kalake in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), Lalu Gita Ariadi in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Harizon Azroi in West Kalimantan, Andap Budhi in Southeast Sulawesi, and Bachtiar Baharuddin in South Sulawesi.