March 3, 2025
JAKARTA – Former general Prabowo Subianto won the Indonesian presidential race in February 2024 after a campaign based on his “gemoy” or cute image showing a softer side that was far removed from his stern military background. But now, just four months since he took office, there are signs that these army links are creeping into his administration.
Several active military officers have been appointed to civilian posts, including senior positions at government ministries and state agencies.
These developments have concerned observers, who fear South-east Asia’s largest democracy may be slipping back into dwifungsi, a dual-function system in which the military had civilian roles, which was abolished following the country’s 1998 reforms.
Article 47 of the military (TNI) law of 2004 stipulates that active military officers can fill only high-ranking positions in just 10 government institutions, mainly those related to security and defence, including the Defence Ministry, State Intelligence Agency, National Search and Rescue Agency, and the National Narcotics Agency.
But a string of appointments made by the new President has breached this rule.
On his first official day as president, Mr Prabowo appointed his personal assistant, Major Teddy Indra Wijaya, an active military officer, as Cabinet secretary. The latter’s official task is to advise the President on the day-to-day running of the government and remove any policy obstacles. This position is not on the list of permissible posts for active military officers.
Similarly, on Feb 7, Major-General Novi Helmy, an aide to the armed forces general, was appointed as the head of national food agency Bulog. His task is to ensure an ample domestic supply of staple foods such as rice, flour and corn, and to help maintain stable prices nationwide.
Other recent appointments that have breached the TNI law include the appointments of Major-General Maryono as the head of internal supervision affairs at the Transportation Ministry, and Maj-Gen Irham Waroihan to helm internal supervision affairs at the Agriculture Ministry.
Also, the navy’s first commodore Heriyawan, who goes by one name, was given a senior post at the national haj agency that oversees Islamic pilgrimage matters.
Politicians and observers are concerned about this expansion of the military’s involvement in the civilian sphere, seeing it as a pathway for the resurgence of the armed forces’ previous dwifungsi role.
Former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also voiced his misgivings on the matter. The former army general was widely hailed for his strong commitment towards military reform during his leadership from 2004 to 2014.
At his private residence on Feb 23, he told cadres of the Democratic Party he co-founded in 2001 that any active military officers who join the government or politics must leave the military, stressing this is one key doctrine introduced in the 1998 reforms that led to the passing of the current 2004 military law.
The dual-function system was abolished after the fall of authoritarian leader Suharto in 1998, whose regime saw the military’s influence stretch far beyond defence, penetrating politics, business and civil administration over some 30 years.
That led to an abuse of power and corruption, with the oppression of political opposition and strict control of the media generating social unrest.
Mr T.B. Hasanuddin, a veteran MP in the defence and intelligence committee, agreed with Mr Yudhoyono and appealed to the current administration to respect the existing military law.
“I have been making repeated reminders in the past 15 years… This has been breached by not only one president,” the retired major general told reporters on Feb 24, stressing that legal amendment is required if such dwifungsi appointments were to proceed.
He was referring to former president Joko Widodo’s appointment of then active army general Doni Monardo as the head of the national disaster management agency in 2019. The move was defended by Mr Widodo’s administration, which said the high-ranking military officer would be able to easily deploy soldiers in the event of a natural disaster.
Indonesia’s Parliament is now set to deliberate a Bill to expand the military’s role to other sectors including the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the Attorney-General’s Office, and other institutions deemed by the president as requiring the skills and expertise of the military. It is expected to be debated later in 2025.
Military analyst Mufti Makarim told The Straits Times that such legal amendments could be justified if the intention is to accommodate newly established agencies such as the Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla), which was only set up in 2014, 10 years after the 2004 military law was passed.
Bakamla requires leadership that has military ability, he said.
“But other institutions that carry out administrative tasks or require civilians in technical jobs should not be headed by a military officer,” he added.
- Wahyudi Soeriaatmadja has been Indonesia correspondent at The Straits Times since 2008, and is based in Jakarta.