Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesian Transportation Minister Dudy Purwagandhi has dismissed Muhammad Masyhud as director general of sea transportation amid an evaluation aimed at improving performance and public services.
The ministry’s Public Communication and Information Bureau said Purwagandhi appointed Lollan Panjaitan, secretary of the Sea Transportation Directorate General, as acting director general.
Acting bureau head Farida Makhmudah told ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday that the ministry had also dismissed the head of its human resource development institute, who had retired.
She described the reshuffle as a routine government policy to rejuvenate organizational structures and improve management for better performance.
Makhmudah said the decision reflected the need to strengthen leadership and oversight within the Sea Transportation Directorate General.
She said the move was also intended to help the ministry coordinate measures across its units to improve sea travel safety and strengthen oversight.
She added that the approach was consistent with Purwagandhi’s directive to prioritize safety in managing Indonesia’s national transportation system.
Makhmudah stressed that a dismissal does not necessarily reflect an official’s performance, saying the move was part of efforts to improve the ministry’s operations and services.
She said the ministry expects the reshuffle to strengthen oversight and enforcement of sea transportation safety requirements while improving public services.
She said the ministry remains committed to working with other institutions to improve Indonesia’s transportation system through regulatory, administrative and oversight measures.
The restructuring came amid recent sea travel incidents in several regions, including the disappearance of a speedboat carrying five journalists in the Sunda Strait and a ferry accident in the Java Sea.
All five journalists and three others remain missing after 10 days of search operations in the Sunda Strait, while 114 people were evacuated from the Java Sea and six were confirmed dead.
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Translator: M. Harianto, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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