The first Sjahrir cabinet had been forced to resign by Tan Malaka and his opposition Struggle Front.

Sukarno, with the support of the Central Indonesian National Committee (KNIP), then asked Sjahrir to form a new cabinet.

The KNIP asked Sjahrir to form a cabinet including a wider range of opinion.

It contained members from a range of political parties, but Sjahrir's group was still dominant.

The rest of the cabinet held a meeting chaired by Amir Sjarifuddin and proposed transferring all powers to Sukarno.