Indonesia's newly-installed President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono held his first cabinet meeting, as local media stepped up criticism of his ministerial choices, which they said sent out poor signals.

Yudhoyono, who was sworn in on Wednesday, a month after a landslide election win on a ticket of fighting corruption and instigating badly-needed reform, has assembled a mixed cabinet of professionals and political appointees.

But with markets showing disappointment with the line-up, including names from previous governments and the appointment of a tycoon with a record for running up huge debts as economic chief, there were harsh words in the press.

"The inclusion of many old faces in the cabinet, as well as of older – rather than younger – ministers defies the reason Susilo was elected," the Jakarta Post said in its editorial.

The paper said the appointments sent "the wrong sign about the willingness and ability of the new cabinet to make the necessary social, political and economic changes the people want." Expectations are high that Yudhoyono will meet promises of tackling the graft that has driven away the foreign investment needed to expand Indonesia's economy, dispel poverty and absorb increasing numbers of unemployed.

While the appointment of respected judge Abdul Rachman Saleh as attorney general is seen as a positive step, the United States has already challenged Yudhoyono to swiftly implement judicial reforms to regain foreign confidence.

But there are fears that the new president, known by his initials SBY, has made too many concessions to Indonesia's party political elite in an effort to secure influence in a parliament in which his supporters are in minority.

The appointment of Aburizal Bakrie, a tycoon whose company accumulated millions of dollars in foreign debt, has disappointed analysts hoping for a clean cabinet.

"It's not easy, true, for SBY to please everyone in choosing the members of his cabinet," the Media Indonesia newspaper said. "There is danger if we always see pleasing many people as a necessity ... Especially if a president isn't bold enough to oppose the wishes of the parties."

Economist Dradjat Wibowo disdainfully branded the line-up as "Megawati cabinet, volume II", referring to the government of Yudhoyono's successor Megawati Sukarnoputri. Megawati was credited with restoring economic stability but her failure to stimulate business sector growth and improve financial conditions were seen as a factor in her election defeat.