A controversial decision to purchase a British-made chopper has exposed a power struggle between the Defense Ministry and the Indonesian Military (TNI) over which institution has the ultimate authority to decide the weapons procurement budget.

As the AgustaWestland (AW) 101 arrived in the country on Monday, both the TNI and ministry claimed they were not responsible for the decision to procure the chopper, apparently to avoid embarrassment, especially after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo rejected the proposal to buy the aircraft in 2015.

Jokowi deemed the AW 101 chopper, which is reportedly worth US$55 million (Rp741 billion) and to be used for presidential purposes, as too expensive.

Although the TNI is in charge of overseeing the Army, Navy and Air Force, TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said it was not responsible for the purchase.

Gatot passed the buck to the ministry, which oversees the military, saying that its Ministerial Regulation No. 28/2015 had stripped the TNI chief of its authority to oversee the budgetary affairs of the three military forces.

Gatot said such reckless spending would not happen if the TNI was given the authority to make budgetary decisions. He then said the ministry should revise the ministerial regulation. “The decision rests with the defense minister though,” Gatot told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wuryanto said during a meeting with House of Representatives Commission I overseeing defense and foreign affairs that the military had officially requested a revision to the ministerial regulation.

“If the TNI chief inconsistency [in the regulation], of course he wants it to be revised,” Wuryanto told the Post.

Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu rejected Gatot’s request, saying there was nothing wrong with the prevailing ministerial regulation.

He maintained that only the ministry could give final approval on how individual forces within the TNI could spend their budget.

“There is no problem with the regulation. It already accommodates the interests of relevant parties,” Ryamizard said at the State Palace on Tuesday.

Responding to the tug-of-war, Jokowi has instructed Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto to work out a solution to a possible overlap in the authority of the ministry and TNI headquarters.

“The coordinating minister has been instructed to improve communications [between the TNI and the ministry],” Vice President Jusuf Kalla told reporters on Tuesday.

When asked which institution should be given the authority to decide on issues related to the weapons procurement budget, Kalla said all relevant parties must comply with prevailing
regulations.

Kalla also called Gatot out on a bluff for claiming that his term as TNI commander would end in March this year and that he had only brought up the budgetary issue to make it easy for his successor to execute his job.

Kalla said Gatot’s term would end in March 2018 and that he did not know whether Jokowi had any plans to replace him this year.

“I know nothing about a possible successor [for Gatot]. [What I know is] his tenure will end next year, in 2018,” Kalla said.

Jokowi, meanwhile, said he had not been briefed on Gatot’s complaint regarding the TNI’s lack of authority over budgetary issues and that he would look into the ministerial regulation in question.

“I will have to take a look at the ministerial regulation,”
Jokowi said.

Military analyst Mufti Makarim from the Institute for Defense Security and Peace Studies (IDSPS) criticized Gatot for airing his complaint.

Mufti said weapons procurement budgeting was a political matter and that Gatot as military personnel should be excluded from the process.

“I personally think that he is staging a political maneuver by complaining in front of lawmakers,” Mufti said, referring to Gatot’s presence in the meeting with House Commission I on Monday.

The State Palace has frequently denied speculation that Jokowi has a fraught relationship with Gatot, whom many deem as being too ambitious for setting his sights on running for president or vice president in the 2019 election.

Rumors circulated late last year about Gatot’s possible dismissal over an opposing stance with Jokowi on the Nov. 4 anti-Ahok demonstration. Some unverified websites published quotes claiming to be from Gatot, criticizing Jokowi for treating protesters like terrorists.

Mufti said Gatot’s grievances came from the fact that he now had less power than the ministry.

“The problem is that he [Gatot] used to have authority over programs implemented in the military,” Mufti said.

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