October 7, 2024
JAKARTA – Outgoing President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo thanked the Indonesian Military (TNI) for its support throughout his 10-year presidency and reminded the force to continue to improve its capacity and professionalism against new challenges in the future.
Jokowi conveyed the message in his final speech as President during the 79th TNI anniversary ceremony at Merdeka Square in Jakarta on Saturday. He is slated to step down from office in two weeks on Oct. 20, and will be succeeded by president-elect Prabowo Subianto.
During the speech, the President lauded the TNI’s role in safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, unity and political stability.
“Thank you to the entire TNI family for supporting my duties as president over the past 10 years,” Jokowi said on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.
He added that the military force must continuously enhance its capacity and maintain professionalism in the face of increasingly complex challenges, including an increase of cyber threats due to rapid technological advancements and escalating geopolitical tensions.
“We need to be ready and vigilant. The TNI must continually improve and adapt following the changing conditions, including by improving its capacity and professionalism,” the President said, as quoted by kompas.id.
TNI commander Gen. Agus Subiyanto recently claimed that the President had ordered him to form a fourth armed service, dubbed a cyber force, to deal with cyber threats.
However, deliberations in the legislative body about the new force’s formation were halted and are projected to resume after the new administration and new lamakers take office.
During Saturday’s ceremony, Jokowi also expressed his gratitude to Defense Minister and president-elect Prabowo for strengthening the country’s defense through, among other efforts, the promotion of the domestic defense industry and enhancing defense diplomacy.
Among achievements highlighted was the purchase of 42 Rafale fighter jets from the French to modernize the Indonesian Air Force’s fleet, with the last batch acquired earlier this year.
For this year’s anniversary, the TNI took the theme of “TNI together with the people, ready to support the national leadership succession for onward Indonesia.”
The military headquarters deployed over 1,000 main weapons systems from its three branches and approximately 100,000 personnel to participate in the ceremony and parade in Jakarta. (jan)