Brig. Gen. Suhartono (left) (TNI) - Maj. Gen. Jaswandi ( Antara)

The Indonesian Military (TNI) has recently rotated high-ranking officers in 25 high-profile positions related mostly to presidential security affairs, intelligence agency and the Defense Ministry.

Although the TNI argued the rotation was merely based on its routine tour of duty policy, its timing had come after a tumultuous state of security and politics in the past four months, triggered by the simultaneous regional elections.

Based on a decree signed by TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo on Feb. 23, the TNI promoted former commander of Merauke Naval Base (Lantamal XI) Brig. Gen. Suhartono as commander of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres).

Suhartono, a former commander of the Navy’s special force Denjaka, will replace Maj. Gen. Bambang Suswantono. Bambang, who will assume his new role as commander of the marine corps, and Suhartono are both from the Navy.

The appointment of another Navy officer to manage the president’s security is unprecedented since past presidents traditionally have had Army officers to lead Paspampres.

Also related to the security of the president and Jakarta in general is the appointment of Maj. Gen. Jaswandi of the Army, who previously served at the Regional Military Command (Kodam IV) Diponegoro in Central Java.

Jaswandi, who is slated to retire in two years, spent most of his career with the Army’s special force Kopassus where he mostly served in the clandestine division.

He will replace Maj. Gen. Teddy Lhaksmana, who is set to retire soon.

Teddy has been widely praised for helping the police secure Jakarta from the impacts of the Nov. 4 and Dec. 2 rallies, which demanded the prosecution of Jakarta Governor Basuki Tjahja “Ahok” Purnama, a Christian of Chinese descent, for allegedly insulting the Quran.

The rallies were the biggest rallies that had been mobilized since the 1998 Reform Era.

TNI spokesperson Brig. Gen. Wuryanto said the military carried out the tour of duty rotations in order to allow its members to experience new tasks to build up their professional careers for the future.

“Therefore, the TNI keeps trying to improve its performance by rotating and promoting high-profile TNI personnel,” he said on Friday.

Rotations have also impacted military personnel in the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), whose new chief Budi Gunawan is a retired police general with a strong connection to the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-P).

BIN will have new deputies for its prestigious counter intelligence division as well as for its foreign service division.

Maj. Gen. Asep Subarkah Yusuf, a former expert staffer with the agency, is assigned as deputy for counterintelligence while Brig. Gen. Chandra W. Sukotjo as deputy for foreign intelligence. Chandra earlier served as first secretary at the Indonesian Embassy in Australia.

In addition, major rotations also occurred at the Defense Ministry concerning echelon I positions; inspector general, director general of defense strategy, and director general of defense planning.

Notable among the changes is the assignment of Lt. Gen. Agus Sutomo, a confidant of former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, as inspector general who will be tasked with flagging violations at the ministry.

“There are questions whether the rotations at the ministry and BIN were simply a regular tour of duty or a ‘special request’ after reports of disharmony between the TNI and the Defense Ministry,” said the Institute for Defense and Security Studies (IDSS) executive director, Mufti Makarim.

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