October 8, 2024
JAKARTA – The celebration took place at the National Monument complex in Central Jakarta on Saturday, involved 100,000 military personnel and boasted over 1,000 weapons systems from the TNI’s three branches in a wide range of parades and performances.
Jokowi led the opening ceremony while former vice presidents and a long roster of government officials sat in attendance, including president-elect and current Defense Minister Prabowo. The ceremony was seen by thousands who flocked to the event, resulting in hours-long congestion around the venue.
Jokowi in particular greeted Prabowo and addressed him as the president-elect in his speech at the event, which came only two weeks before the retired Army general will be inaugurated as the next president.
Jokowi also expressed gratitude for Prabowo’s role in strengthening the country’s defenses and thanked the military for its support throughout his 10-year presidency.
“I’d like to thank Defense Minister Prabowo, a retired general as well as the president-elect, who has strengthened Indonesia’s defense capabilities in the face of many challenges by modernizing the weapons systems, promoting the local defense industry, increasing our defense diplomacy abroad and much more,” Jokowi said.
Transition goes well
Jokowi told the press on Saturday on the sidelines of the TNI anniversary celebration that the government transition “is going smoothly” and that “there are no issues” with the preparations. He said that everything Prabowo needed, including “legislation to ensure continuity [of Jokowi’s policies] have been put in place”.
In recent months, Jokowi has been helping to smooth the way for his successor with a series of cabinet reshuffles that have seen members of Gerindra and Prabowo’s inner circle get key positions in the government.
In their last sitting period last month, lawmakers and the government passed controversial bills that benefit Prabowo’s upcoming administration, including to allow him to form a larger cabinet than his predecessor and appoint more members to the presidential advisory board once he takes office on Oct. 20.
While the interaction between the incoming and outgoing leaders at the Saturday celebration appeared cordial, reports have grown over the past weeks of a rift between Prabowo and Jokowi because of their differing priorities on a number of issues, such as the newly built Nusantara Capital City (IKN) in East Kalimantan.
Prabowo previously promised a smooth transition of power from Jokowi’s administration after winning February’s presidential election with Jokowi’s eldest son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate.
Prabowo has also pledged to continue implementing Jokowi’s policies in his upcoming government, but critics perceive Prabowo as less interested in investing in Nusantara, which is Jokowi’s biggest legacy, and which has seen stunted progress and missed deadlines.
The rift between the two also seemed to grow after social media users unearthed online posts from an alleged old account of Gibran on an internet forum from 2014 to 2019 that slandered the president-elect and his family.
Political analyst Ujang Komarudin said whatever issue the two figures have is only “part of their dynamic”.
“At the end of the day, Jokowi will want to keep the harmony by ensuring a smooth transition for Prabowo because he has no other choice. He will want his outgoing administration to be seen as good, open and able to maintain conductivity,” he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
Defense sector
Analysts have predicted that the upcoming government will shift focus toward defense and security, given Prabowo’s military background.
“Prabowo’s [campaign platform of] Asta Cita shows that national security is closely linked to the country’s economy,” defense expert Anton Aliabbas said. “So hopefully, the upcoming government’s plans to bolster the country’s defenses will also lead to positive impacts on Indonesia’s economy.”
Hikmahanto Juwana, an international law professor at the University of Indonesia, said current global situations require military expertise that Prabowo has and “knows how to use”.
Concerns grew earlier this year that the military would return to influence civilian affairs after then lawmakers pushed a revision to the TNI law.
Strong opposition from critics eventually forced the lawmakers to halt deliberations on the bill before they ended their term last month. But new lawmakers recently hinted at resuming unfinished discussions of the bill.