Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said on Thursday that State-Owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir is now in charge of running the day-to-day operations of the Office of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment.
President Jokowi's appointment of Erick as interim coordinating minister came after the position was left vacant for more than a week following the sudden illness suffered by the incumbent Luhut Panjaitan.
"The interim coordinating minister is now Pak Erick. So we won't have any more problems with regard to the day-to-day operations of the ministry," President Jokowi told reporters after watching the soccer match between Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam on Thursday evening.
Jokowi also told reporters that members of the public should all pray for the recovery of Luhut. "We all pray that Pak Luhut can be given a speedy recovery," Jokowi said, as quoted by Antara.
Luhut was rushed to a hospital in Singapore following a suspected heart problem, which his family attributed to extreme fatigue. The health scare occurred days after Luhut celebrated his 76th birthday late in September.
Earlier this week, Luhut posted from his Instagram account @luhut.pandjaitan that his health condition was improving and that he was on his way to recovery.
In the social media statement, Luhut also said that he decided to accept the offer from Singapore's senior ministers to get treatment at a top-class hospital in the city state to gain a comprehensive assessment of his health condition.
Luhut also gave thanks to President Jokowi who had dispatched members of the Presidential physicians team to look into his condition shortly after the health scare.