Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo has ruffled some feathers after making a number of controversial remarks during a meeting with retired military members at the TNI headquarters last week.

In an audio recording featuring part of Gatot’s speech during the meeting, the TNI commander alleged that an institution outside the military tried to import 5,000 illegal weapons “on behalf” of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

The general, who will retire in March next year, also triggered controversy by saying he would attack the National Police if it possessed weapons that could shoot at a tank, warship or aircraft.

Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto was quick to clarify Gatot’s statement on Sunday, saying that Gatot was misinformed about the plan by the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) to purchase 500 weapons from state-owned weapons manufacturer PT Pindad for “training purposes.”

But the controversy did not end with Wiranto’s clarification, as members of the House of Representatives said they would seek clarification from Gatot directly.

TB Hasanuddin, a former military general and senior Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) politician, lambasted the TNI commander for disclosing sensitive intelligence to the public and for failing to discuss the matter with related institutions.

“A state official should have known the law, procedures and ethics,” the politician, who also serves as the deputy chairman of the House Commission I overseeing security, said on Monday. “Throwing out such sensitive information to the public is wrong.”

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