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ll members of the House of Representatives military commission agreed to endorse Gen. Moeldoko as the new Indonesian Military (TNI) commander. Moeldoko will replace Adm. Agus Suhartono, who will retire on Sept. 1, (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 22). Soon after taking over his new position, Moeldoko will face the major task of managing the huge defense budget.

In his speech to commemorate the 68th anniversary of independence at the House, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono announced a 2014 defense budget of Rp 83.4 trillion (US$7.67 billion), a 9 percent increase over the previous year. This figure is equal to about 0.9 percent of GDP.

Yudhoyono said this allocation would support modernization and development of TNI'€™s main weaponry system and also defense industries.

'€œBy modernizing and developing our defense capabilities, the TNI will be able to ensure its capacity to uphold sovereignty and protect the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) from threats,'€ the president said.

Since 2010, the TNI'€™s budget has been increased annually. During 2010-2013, the military budget has increased significantly from Rp 44.382 trillion to Rp 58.936 trillion or around 32 percent.

However, this trend does not automatically reflect expenditure for equipment and parts. The increase only happens in routine budget spending.

Data from the TNI headquarters shows that during the three-year term, routine expenditures increased around 51 percent from previous terms, from Rp 22.224 trillion to Rp 36.568 (or equal to a 17 percent increase per year). Meanwhile, TNI headquarters applies a zero growth policy for recruiting new personnel.

On the other side, other expenditures did not increase. Expenditure on goods and services during the three-year period decreased by 22.9 percent, from Rp 14.252 trillion to 10.984 trillion (7.6 percent each year). Military capital expenditure, for the last three years fluctuated. During the three-year term, capital expenditure increased by around 92.8 percent, from Rp 5.904 trillion to Rp 11.383 trillion.

Nevertheless, in 2011, capital spending reached almost Rp 15 trillion.

Moreover, in a fit-and-proper test at the House on Aug. 21, Moeldoko stated that the acceleration of development of Minimum Essential Forces (MEF) in 2013 is around 30 percent of the target. He predicted that the TNI would only reach 55 percent of MEF by end of 2015. For the purpose of accelerating the MEF target for 2010-2014, the government and the House agreed to allocate Rp 156 trillion. Hopefully, until 2014, our main weaponry system will be able to fulfill the minimum standards.

There are two problems that should be of concern to Moeldoko. First, the possibility of the defense budget being suspended. In August 2012, the Finance Ministry halted the disbursement of Rp 678 billion additional funding to the Defense Ministry.

This budget allocation was meant to strengthen communications among aircraft, ship and weapons control systems. If Moeldoko does not improve the TNI headquarters'€™ performance in budget management, a similar problem could happen during his term in office.

Second, the controversy over purchasing weapons systems. There were some polemics raised over purchasing weapons with the involvement of a third party and unplanned purchases, like the procurement of 103 main battle tanks. Problems may occur if Moeldoko does not strictly refer to the weapon procurement list, nor be strongly committed to disengaging a third party in weapon procurement.

Undeniably, with this huge amount of money, Gen. Moeldoko completely should have some policy plans. In a fit-and-proper test at the House, Moeldoko said he would prepare a road map to boost the acceleration of MEF, which includes rationalization and efficiency scenarios. There are some ideas that could be considered by Moeldoko.

First, an early pension policy. Through such a policy, Moeldoko could downsize personnel and reduce routine spending. But this policy should be followed with the provision of entrepreneurship training, workshops or courses for personnel who accept the offer of early retirement. We should teach more skills to early retired soldiers in order to avoid the unexpected from happening.

Second, restructuring territorial commands. Paragraph 2, Article 11 of Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI clearly states that territorial commands do not always follow the civil administration structure. It means that there is an opportunity for Moeldoko to close some territorial commands in Java and focus on border areas instead.

A territorial command as a part of force deployment should be understood as being a temporary and not permanent structure. If Moeldoko chooses this idea, then he could start to develop defense system through a capability-based approach. This would also give the Indonesian Air Force and Navy a wider role in territorial defense.

Third, improving transparency and accountability in budgeting. As a general who is committed to eradicating corruption, Moeldoko should give wider opportunity to external agencies such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) and NGOs to oversee military budgeting.

Any criticism from NGOs of the military institution should be responded to proportionally and not judged negatively.

However, what Moeldoko said in front of the House members is that he will develop the military by using a capability-based and resource-based approach.

This is possible as long as he is committed to keeping his word and engaging other stake holders to support his goals. At the end of his term, history will show whether he is the best military commander in chief or not.

The writer is program director at the Ridep Institute.