Indonesia appoints labour union chief as new environment minister

April 27, 2026 5:37 AM EDT

Indonesia’s newly appointed Minister of Environment, Mohammad Jumhur Hidayat, chief of All-Indonesia Workers' Union Confederation, speaks to media after his inauguration at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, Indonesia, April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Ajeng Din

JAKARTA, April 27 - Indonesian ‌President Prabowo ​Subianto has ​appointed a labour union chief as the country's new environment minister, the palace said on Monday, 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.

• 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 Organization 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.

(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Ananda Teresia; Writing by Stanley Widianto; Editing by ‌David Stanway)



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