Indonesian Minister Luhut Panjaitan Receiving Medical Care

(Bloomberg) -- A senior Indonesian minister who shaped President Joko Widodo’s economic policies is seeking medical treatment in Singapore for an undisclosed illness.

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Luhut Panjaitan, coordinating minister of maritime affairs and investment, said in a statement on his Instagram account on Tuesday that he experienced an “extraordinary exhaustion” a few days ago, which prompted his wife to admit him to a hospital in the capital Jakarta.

On the invitation of Singapore’s Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean, Panjaitan will undergo further medical evaluation and treatment in the neighboring city-state, a two-hour flight from Jakarta.

State-owned Enterprises Minister Erick Thohir has been appointed as interim coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment as of Wednesday, presidential special staff Ari Dwipayana said in response to Bloomberg’s queries.

A general who once led Indonesia’s elite special forces, Panjaitan is a close ally of Widodo, who is better known as Jokowi. It’s unclear how long Panjaitan’s medical treatment will be. If prolonged, his ill health could have implications for Jokowi’s push to secure investment, particularly from Tesla Inc. for electric vehicle manufacturing, and funding for the country’s new capital in Borneo.

Panjaitan has been driving key economic mandates including a nationalistic minerals processing policy and a green energy transition plan that led to a $21.5 billion climate finance deal with the US and other wealthy countries. He has also been pushing for a critical minerals trade deal with the US, which Jokowi is set to discuss with President Joe Biden in November.

--With assistance from Chandra Asmara.

(Adds appointment of Erick Thohir as interim coordinating minister for maritime affairs and investment in fourth paragraph.)

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