Unorthodox! President Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo has appointed Budi Gunadi Sadikin as the new Minister of Health Affairs replacing the controversial Lt. Gen. (ret) dr. Terawan Agus Putranto. Budi, former CEO of state bank Mandiri (BMRI), previously served as Vice Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).

Muhammad Lutfi is the new Minister of Trade, replacing Agus Suparmanto, a politician from the National Awakening Party (PKB). Prior to that, Lutfi served as the Indonesian Ambassador for the United States of America (USA). Lutfi is not a new face in Indonesian business and politics.

PKB, an Islamic party that strongly affiliated to the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), lost the Trade Ministry portfolio to Muhammad Lutfi, a professional with extensive networking to Indonesian business and politics. But in exchange, PKB got another strategic portfolio with President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s decision to appoint Yaqut Cholil Qoumas a.k.a Gus Yaqut as the new Minister of Religious Affairs replacing General (ret) Fachrul Razi. Yaqut is the chairman of GP Ansor, a youth wing organization of NU, the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia.

Sakti Wahyu Trenggono has been appointed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the new Minister of Marine & Fisheries. He’s replacing Edhy Prabowo, a key leader of Gerindra Party and Prabowo Subianto’s trusted aide that arrested by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in corruption case. Prior to that, Sakti assisted Prabowo as Vice Minister of Defense.

The Persatuan Tarbiyah Islamiyah (PERTI or PTI) is based in West Sumatera. The Organization is led by Basri Bermanda, one of the new deputy chairmen of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI). PERTI has a long history in Indonesian politics.

The Komite Khittah Nahdlatul Ulama (KKNU) 1926 is a small annex organization of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), the largest Muslim organization in Indonesia. The KKNU 1926 is led by Prof. Rochmat Wahab, one of the presidium chairmen of the new opposition group KAMI.

Two Islamic organizations in Indonesia use the name of Nahdlatul Wathan (NW). The first is the Nahdlatul Wathan that was founded in Java in 1916 by KH Wahab Chasbullah, who is the pupil of KH Hasyim Asyari. This Nahdlatul Wathan is the pioneer of the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), now the largest Islamic organization in the country. The second one is the Nahdlatul Wathan, whose stronghold is in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province, established back in 1953 by Maulana Syekh TGK Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid, the late grandfather of former NTB Governor TGH Muhammad Zainul Majdi a.k.a Tuan Guru Bajang (TGB).

Hidayatullah is not as big as the major Islamic organizations in Indonesia such as the Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the Muhammadiyah. Still, Hidayatullah is worth highlighting in the context of Islam and politics in the country.