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House of Yudhoyono/Wibowo in the making
Portrait of a family: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono poses with his wife (front right), his youngest son Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono (back left), and his older son Agus Harimurti accompanied by his wife Anissa Larazati, who is holding their daughter Almira
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span class="inline inline-right">Portrait of a family: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono poses with his wife (front right), his youngest son Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono (back left), and his older son Agus Harimurti accompanied by his wife Anissa Larazati, who is holding their daughter Almira. Courtesy of the Presidential Office
Indonesia has seen several prominent yet sometimes notorious dynasties in its political history: the Soekarnos and the Soehartos to name a few. Are we now witnessing the birth of the Yudhoyono/Wibowo dynasty?
With President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s family and his wife’s relatives now wedged into several top posts in the country’s political, economic and military institutions, it may be hard not to single out an avid hint that resources are being pooled to nurture power through bloodlines.
Luminaries within the family include none other than the President’s eldest son, Capt. Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, 33, and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono’s younger brother Lt. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo, 55, who was recently installed as chief of the prestigious Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).
Analysts have long maintained that Agus was the crown prince who would not only keep Yudhoyono’s clan center stage for the next decade, but also of the Wibowos’, the First Lady’s family.
The late Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, a legendary special forces general who was highly regarded for quashing communism during the early reign of former strongman Soeharto, was Ani’s and Pramono’s father.
As previously reported, Pramono is tipped by several political analysts as a strong candidate for president in 2014, when Yudhoyono comes to the end of his term limit and can no longer run for president.
While Pramono’s hard-gained career finds him just inches away from taking up the military’s highest job before retiring in early 2014, Agus’ has been handed to him on a platter.
Unlike most officers of his age and rank who have to bear the hardship of tours of duty in remote and conflict-prone areas across the archipelago, Agus has spent most of his military career at school.
In less than six years, Agus has already secured two masters degrees: one from the Institute of Defense and Strategic Studies at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University and the other from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
A month after graduating from Harvard, Agus flew back to the US with his family in August to enroll in a seven-month military course at Fort Benning.
An Army brigadier general — who refused to be named, citing safety concerns — said that under the military’s internal rules, Agus’ rank did not render him eligible to enroll for the degrees.
Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Gen. (ret.) Djoko Suyanto, however, denied the allegations, insisting that Agus had all the capabilities and requirements to take the degrees.
Critics have long voiced concerns over the alleged special treatment Agus, Pramono and Lt. Gen. (ret.) Erwin Sudjono received in their military career during Yudhoyono’s time. Erwin, who married Ani’s older sister, was installed as Kostrad chief in 2006 before taking up the post of chief of general staff in 2007.
Although the military’s clout in Indonesian politics is not as prominent as during the Soeharto era,
it still remains a driving force in ensuring political and security stability. A firm grip of the military ensures sustainable support for any president.
“There are widespread indications that all resources in politics, military and the economy are seemingly being accumulated to clear the way for Pramono and Agus to secure the future presidency, regardless of their performance,” Dutch-educated legislator Eva Kusuma Sundari of the House of Representatives’ legal and security commission said recently.
“However, there’s a suspicious hint of conflicts of interest and abuse of power in pulling out these resources in clearing the way for the creation of a dynasty,” she said.
In politics, the path has obviously been secured with less effort.
The Democratic Party, founded by Yudhoyono and Ani, won the 2009 elections and has installed
several members of the family as top officials.
Yudhoyono’s youngest son Edhie Baskoro Yudhoyono is the party’s secretary-general, Ani’s brother-in-law Hadi Utomo is now a member of the patron board, and Ani’s youngest brother Hartanto Edhie Wibowo is the executive chairman for state-owned companies.
Ani’s nephew Nurcahyo Anggorojati (the son of Hadi Utomo) is the party’s secretary for the campaign committee while Hadi Utomo’s younger brother Agus Hermanto is the committee’s executive chairman.
University of Indonesia political analyst Andrinof Chaniago said the Democratic Party was undoubtedly family owned, making any questions regarding its management less significant for the public.
“Since it’s a family-owned party, it’s obvious that the founders would install people close to them to manage it,” he said.
“In the public sector it’s also obvious that the President would pick people close to him to ensure trust. But the issue is whether the appointments are free of any vested interests.”
Unlike in developed countries where there exist rules governing ethics and the appropriateness of officials in appointing their relatives for top jobs in public office, Indonesian policymakers have yet to draft one.
There are also no boundaries drawn for the relatives of public officials to secure state projects and
do business with state-owned companies.
This has created endless debate over whether Yudhoyono’s promotion of mostly his wife’s relatives to public office and their engagement with state companies is nepotism.
“Of course looking at the procedures, rights and opportunities, there’s nothing wrong with his relatives’ winning key posts. But there’s a question of ethics and appropriateness here,” Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University political analyst Arie Sudjito said.
“There should be limits to the role of the family unless we want a repeat of the rise of another powerful dynasty reminiscent to the Soeharto clan,” he said.
Soeharto, his children, relatives and cronies were notorious for their collusive role in the business sector for keeping the dynasty in power.
Since Yudhoyono is an only child, less is heard of his relatives allegedly taking advantage of his presidency than those of the First Lady, who has four sisters and two brothers, particularly in the business sector.
Ani’s brother-in-law Gatot Suwondo has been the president director of state-owned bank BNI, the nation’s fourth-largest bank by assets, since early 2008.
Hadi Utomo and Hartanto also have business ties with several state-owned companies, including state ferry operator PT Pelni, telecommunications company PT Telkom and railway company PT Kereta Api, according to officials at the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry.
The First Lady’s eldest sister, Wijiasih Cahyasari, and husband Chairil Irwan Siregar have coal businesses in Kalimantan, and supply to state power company PT PLN.
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Mustafa Abubakar previously claimed that Yudhoyono’s relatives, who met requirements to conduct business with state-owned companies, should not be rejected merely because of the family link.
Such a message, Eva Kusuma says, is a kind of endorsement by Mustafa to accommodate the interest of the President’s relatives, as the eligibility would be loosely interpreted.
“We’re still a feudal nation. If there’s no advocating measures put in place to meet the need of ethics and appropriateness for the involvement of public officials’ relatives, there exists the likelihood for governors, mayors and regents to follow suit,” she said.
“And some of them have indeed followed in the footsteps.”
