Indonesia Needs a 'COO of the Nation' to Keep the Engine Running

Indonesia today stands at a decisive moment. Under President Prabowo Subianto’s leadership, the nation has embarked on an ambitious transformation from food and energy sovereignty, industrial downstreaming, and defense modernization, to digital acceleration and social welfare reform.

The vision is bold. But vision alone does not move a nation. What we need now is precision in execution a central hand that ensures every part of government moves in the same direction, at the same speed, toward the same goal.

Just as a company relies on a Chief Operating Officer (COO) to keep the organization efficient and coherent, Indonesia needs a “COO of the Nation.”

The Silo Problem: Too Many Engines, No Conductor

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Our bureaucracy is vast more than 600,000 organizational units across ministries, regional governments, and state agencies. Each has its own budget, structure, and programs. In principle, this represents diversity of function. In practice, it too often leads to fragmentation.

We see this daily: overlapping initiatives, duplicated budgets, and delayed programs. Ministries design policies independently. Agencies pursue their own KPIs. Regional governments wait for coordination that never quite comes.

The result? The government moves forward, but not always together.

Indonesia’s greatest challenge today is not lack of ideas, but lack of orchestration.

Why MENPAN-RB Is the Best Option

Fortunately, the structure for this coordination already exists within the Ministry for Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform (MENPAN-RB).

Legally, institutionally, and functionally, MENPAN-RB can and should become the operational center of government the COO of the nation.

This is not an abstract idea. The mandate is already there:

• Law No. 17 of 2007 on the National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) demands policy alignment and coherence across ministries.
• Law No. 25 of 2004 on the National Development Planning System (SPPN) gives Bappenas the planning function, but leaves a gap in execution coordination precisely where MENPAN-RB fits.
• Presidential Regulation No. 81 of 2010 on the Grand Design of Bureaucratic Reform (GDBR) mandates MENPAN-RB to drive efficiency, accountability, and effectiveness the three pillars of operational leadership.
• Law No. 30 of 2014 on Government Administration grants authority to evaluate and streamline decision-making processes across ministries.

In essence, the legal foundation already exists. What is needed is political will and presidential empowerment to elevate MENPAN-RB into a true Government Operations Command Center.

From Fragmentation to Orchestration

Indonesia’s development challenges from food security to industrial green transition are inherently cross-sectoral.

They cannot be solved by one ministry alone.

Food security, for example, involves agriculture, trade, logistics, energy, and defense. Yet each ministry manages its own projects. Without a conductor, the orchestra plays in different tempos.

A COO-style MENPAN-RB would ensure every instrument plays in harmony. It would:

1. Translate the President’s vision into operational targets across ministries.
2. Integrate performance dashboards and key results via SPBE and Satu Data Indonesia.
3. Enforce delivery timelines through bureaucratic accountability.
4. Align budgets, policies, and outcomes with the national strategic agenda.

This is not about adding another layer of bureaucracy. It’s about making the bureaucracy work as one system.

A Call for a Less Political, More Operational Leader

To succeed, this role must be led by someone less political, more managerial a leader with the authority to align, the courage to simplify, and the discipline to deliver.

This is not about power consolidation; it’s about execution consistency.

The President needs lieutenants who can make things happen, not merely announce. Someone who wakes up every day asking: Are the engines running? Are we still on course?

That is what a COO of the Nation does.

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The Way Forward

Indonesia’s future will not be defined by how many policies we launch, but by how many we deliver.

Empowering MENPAN-RB as the COO of the Nation would transform government from being policy-driven to performance-driven, from fragmented initiatives to orchestrated outcomes.

President Prabowo’s big ideas deserve a government machinery that runs like an engine  synchronized, efficient, and unrelenting.

To make that happen, we must move beyond silos, beyond ceremonial coordination meetings, and toward an operating model built on data, discipline, and direction.

Indonesia is ready for it. The question is, will we take the step to make it real?