Mochamad Basuki Hadimuljono (born 5 November 1954) is an Indonesian bureaucrat who is the current
Head of The Nusantara Capital City Authority and was the former
Minister of Public Works and Public Housing under
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
. Before his appointment as minister, he had worked for the Indonesian Ministry of Public Works for nine years.
Basuki was born in
Surakarta
Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
; his father was a member of the
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...
. After obtaining his bachelor's from
Gadjah Mada University
Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...
in 1979, he moved into the ministry of public works and began his career there. Later, he obtained his master's and doctorate from
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
. He rose up the ranks and served as inspector-general and director-general there, until he accepted an appointment from
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
to serve as minister after over 30 years as a public servant in 2014.
Due to Widodo's infrastructure programs, Basuki's ministry received significant portions of the budget during his tenure, measuring Rp 107.3 trillion (US$ 7.5 billion) for the 2018 fiscal year. Projects under his tenure included mass construction of public housing, road infrastructure and water reservoirs.
Early life
Basuki was born in
Surakarta
Surakarta (Javanese script, Javanese: , Pegon script, Pegon: ), known colloquially as Solo (Javanese script, Javanese: ; ), is a major List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in Central Java, Indonesia. The city adjoins Karanganyar Reg ...
on 5 November 1954, as the fourth son of a soldier in the
Indonesian Army
The Indonesian Army ( (TNI-AD), ) is the army, land branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It has an estimated strength of 300,400 active personnel. The history of the Indonesian Army has its roots in 1945 when the (TKR) "People's Se ...
with seven siblings. As a child, he would move often due to his father's stationing. He completed his elementary school in
Palembang
Palembang (, Palembang: ''Pelémbang'', Mandarin: 巨港 (Jùgǎng), Hokkien: 舊港 (Kū-káng), Jawi: ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River in the ea ...
, middle school in
Papua, and high school in
Surabaya
Surabaya is the capital city of East Java Provinces of Indonesia, province and the List of Indonesian cities by population, second-largest city in Indonesia, after Jakarta. Located on the northeastern corner of Java island, on the Madura Strai ...
.
Family
He is married to Kartika Nurani and the couple has three children–Dewi (born 1987), Neil (born 1992) and Dira (born 1994).
Early education
During his high school period, he was active in school bands and played the drum. After completing high school at
SMA Negeri 5 Surabaya (
id), he was admitted into
Gadjah Mada University
Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...
where he studied
engineering geology
Engineering geology is the application of geology to engineering study for the purpose of assuring that the geological factors regarding the location, design, construction, operation and maintenance of engineering works are recognized and accou ...
. He graduated from there in 1979, at age 25.
In 2024, he would be elected as head of UGM's alumni association.
Career
After graduating from UGM, Basuki landed a job at the ministry of public works as a civil servant. After several years, he obtained a scholarship from the ministry to resume his studies, and obtained both a master's and a doctorate from
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
at ages 35 and 38, respectively.
Following his continued studies, he returned to Indonesia and continued his work at the ministry, receiving an award as the ministry's employee of the year in 1995. Later on, he was promoted to be the head of the ministry's research and development body between 2005 and 2007. After this, he became the ministry's
inspector general until 2013. The last position he held prior to his ministerial appointment in October 2014 was director-general of
spatial planning
Spatial planning mediates between the respective claims on space of the state, market, and community. In so doing, three different mechanisms of involving stakeholders, integrating sectoral policies and promoting development projects mark the th ...
.
During his time at the ministry, he had participated in several national-level working groups including ones related to rehabilitation following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time ( UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The undersea megathrust earthquake, known in the sci ...
in
Aceh
Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
, handling of the
Sidoarjo mud flow
The Sidoarjo mudflow (commonly known as Lumpur Lapindo, wherein ''lumpur'' is the Indonesian word for mud; and as Lusi (short for Lumpur Sidoarjo) is the result of an erupting mud volcano in the subdistrict of Porong, Sidoarjo, in East Java, I ...
(2006–2007), reparation of the
Purbaleunyi Toll Road and management of food scarcity in
Yahukimo Regency
Yahukimo Regency is one of the regencies (''kabupaten'') in the Indonesian province of Highland Papua. It covers an area of 17,152 km2, and had a population of 164,512 at the 2010 Census,Biro Pusat Statistik, Jakarta, 2011. but this figure more t ...
(both in 2006).
In May 2012, Basuki was also appointed the chief commissioner at
Wijaya Karya, a
state-owned
State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...
construction company.
He also served as a vice president of the
International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage for the 2013–2016 tenure.
Cabinet minister

On 26 October 2014, newly elected president
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
announced the appointment of Basuki as the minister of public works and public housing. The ministry was formed from a merger of the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Public Housing, previously headed by Djoko Kirmanto and
Djan Faridz respectively. Like other ministers, he resigned from his corporate work at Wijaya Karya upon appointment. He was one of the five
Gadjah Mada University
Gadjah Mada University (; , abbreviated as UGM) is a public research university located in Sleman, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Officially founded on 19 December 1949, Gadjah Mada University is one of the oldest and largest institut ...
alumni in the cabinet lineup (excluding Widodo himself), and had a reported asset of Rp 6.5 billion (about US$ 500,000) in 2012.
Less than two months after becoming minister, Basuki agreed to provide a USD 62 million loan to compensate the victims of the
Sidoarjo mud flow
The Sidoarjo mudflow (commonly known as Lumpur Lapindo, wherein ''lumpur'' is the Indonesian word for mud; and as Lusi (short for Lumpur Sidoarjo) is the result of an erupting mud volcano in the subdistrict of Porong, Sidoarjo, in East Java, I ...
after getting in contact with the
Bakrie Group. The company was given 4 years to pay off the debt, or face a government takeover of their assets (largely land). In 2016, he was also summoned by the
Corruption Eradication Commission
The Corruption Eradication Commission (), abbreviated as KPK, is an Indonesian government agency established to prevent and fight corruption in the country.
History Background
Anti-corruption efforts began in Indonesia in the 1950s.
Followin ...
to serve as a witness regarding a graft case in his ministry.
In the first year under him the ministry received a IDR 33 trillion increase of funding between a draft and a revised budget plan – receiving the largest such increase compared to other ministries. While it only used about 8% of its IDR 118 trillion (USD 8.94 billion) annual budget within the first five months, by the end of that year the number increased to 94.5%. The ministry received the most funding compared to other ministries in 2016, while in the 2017 and 2018 budgets the ministry was second behind the
Ministry of Defence
A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...
. The ministry's budget for the 2018 fiscal year was set at IDR 107.3 trillion.
Basuki retained his ministerial position in the 2019
Onward Indonesia Cabinet
The Onward Indonesia Cabinet () was sworn in on 23 October 2019 by President Joko Widodo. The president reshuffled this cabinet 13 times. The last reshuffle occurred on 11 September 2024.
Lineup Heads of the cabinet
Coordinating ministers
...
. In 2022, he joined the
Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (, PDI-P) is a centre to centre-left secular-nationalist political party in Indonesia. Since 2014, it has been the ruling and largest party in the House of Representatives (DPR), having won 110 seat ...
(PDIP), the government's largest party and the then party of President Joko Widodo.
Projects
Moving the capital
In 2017, the
People's Representative Council
The House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia (, DPR-RI or simply DPR) is one of two elected chambers of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the national legislature of Indonesia. It is considered the lower house, while th ...
revoked funding for capital-moving studies in the ministry's budget. Basuki described the capital's possible future movement from
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
as a "political decision", and that the move "is not easy" with the ministry only having done literature studies instead of macro planning. He added that such a move might take four to five years in preparation.
People's Consultative Assembly
The People's Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia (, MPR-RI) is the legislative branch in Indonesia's political system. It is composed of the members of a lower body, House of Representatives (DPR) and an upper body, Regional R ...
speaker
Zulkifli Hasan
Zulkifli Hasan (born 17 May 1962), or colloquially Zulhas or Bang Zul, is an Indonesian politician and businessman who is currently serving as Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs since 20 October 2024. Previously, he served as Ministry of ...
has called for a delay in the move, citing its major cost amidst major infrastructure projects. Basuki also pointed out that
Palangkaraya would not be the only option, if such a move was made.
On 3 June 2024, Basuki was appointed the acting head of the
Nusantara Capital City Authority, the agency responsible for the development of the new capital, following the resignation of Bambang Susantono. Under
Prabowo Subianto
Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...
's presidency, Basuki was appointed the agency's definitive head on 5 November 2024.
Public housing
Joko Widodo
Joko Widodo (; born 21 June 1961), often known mononymously as Jokowi, is an Indonesian politician, engineer, and businessman who served as the seventh president of Indonesia from 2014 to 2024. Previously a member of the Indonesian Democratic ...
launched a plan to construct 1 million public houses as part of 10 million affordable housing by 2019–of which about 600,000 will be constructed from the ministry's budget. In implementation, the program received various complaints regarding the project speed to the slow response of permits from local governments. According to Basuki, about 700,000 of the houses had been completed by October 2017.
Infrastructure
In the 2016 ministry budget, construction of roads and bridges received the largest share followed by water resources. The Indonesian government set plans to construct 1,000 km of toll roads within Widodo's first 5-year tenure alongside 2,650 km of national roads. This included completion of the
Trans-Java Toll Road and the initiation of the
Trans-Sumatra Toll Road, in addition to the
Trans Papua road–which according to Basuki was planned to reach 4,300 km in length by 2019.
A toll road was also initiated between the cities of
Manado
Manado (, ) is the capital City status in Indonesia, city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sulawesi. It is the second largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar, with the 2020 census giving a population of 451,916,Badan ...
and
Bitung in
North Sulawesi
North Sulawesi () is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is mainly located on the Minahasa Peninsula of the island of Sulawesi, south of the Philippines and southeast of Sabah, Malaysia, but also includes various small archipel ...
.
The ministry also planned on constructing 49 dams to provide water resources between 2014 and 2019.
Awards
For his 30 years of service in the Ministry of Public Works, Basuki was awarded the three ''Satyalencana Karya'' medals. He was also awarded the ''Satyalencana Pembangunan'' and ''Satyalencana Wirakarya'' medal in 2003 and 2005 respectively, in addition to ''Satyalencana Kesejahteraan Sosial'' for his work in
Aceh
Aceh ( , ; , Jawi script, Jawoë: ; Van Ophuijsen Spelling System, Old Spelling: ''Atjeh'') is the westernmost Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia. It is located on the northern end of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capit ...
following the tsunami. In December 2017, he also received the ''Bintang Bhayangkara Utama'' alongside 6 other cabinet ministers.
He also received a Distinguished Honorary Fellow award from the
ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...
Federation of Engineering Organizations in February 2017, along with an International Lifetime Contribution Award from the
Japan Society of Civil Engineers in July 2017.
He also received
The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star from
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
in November 2023.
*:
**
Star of Mahaputera
Star of Mahaputera (Indonesian language, Indonesian:''Bintang Mahaputera'') is the second highest honorary award awarded by the Government of the Republic of Indonesia, one level below the Star of the Republic of Indonesia. This honorary award was ...
, 2nd Class () (2019)
**
Star of Bhayangkara, 1st Class () (2017)
**
Civil Servants' Long Service Medal, () (30 Years) (2014)
**
Civil Servants' Long Service Medal, () (20 Years) (2003)
**
Civil Servants' Long Service Medal, () (10 Years) (2001)
**
Medal for Contributing in the National Development, () (2003)
**
Medal for Providing an Example of Meritorious Personality, () (2005)
**
Medal for Service in the Field of Social Welfare, () (2005)
*:
**
Order of the Rising Sun
The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...
, Gold and Silver Star (8 November 2023)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basuki, Hadimuljono
1954 births
Living people
Colorado State University alumni
Gadjah Mada University alumni
Public works ministers of Indonesia
People from Surakarta
Working Cabinet (Joko Widodo)
Onward Indonesia Cabinet