TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Stop politicizing the TNI
Andika’s nomination strengthens the speculation that political considerations are at play and that the move resulted from negotiations with the powerful Army or with individual active or retired generals to serve their political interests.
Change Size
Relieving news: Army Chief of Staff Gen. Andika Perkasa announced the end of “virginity testing” for female recruits on Aug. 10. (Kompas.com/Courtesy of Dispenad)
A
s Army chief of staff, Gen. Andika Perkasa no doubt meets all the requirements to take on the responsibilities of the next Indonesian Military (TNI) chief. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has nominated him as the sole candidate for the job and is awaiting the House of Representatives’ endorsement. Because Jokowi’s coalition controls 82 percent of the House, Andika’s appointment is almost certain.
The House has 20 days to decide on the nomination, but given that the outgoing TNI chief Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto will reach the retirement age of 58 on Nov. 8, we can expect Andika’s confirmation to move quickly.
There is just one problem. Andika will reach the mandatory retirement age in December 2022. The President and the House will have to go through the process all over again next year. And the rumors and speculation about Andika’s successor will begin as soon as he takes the post.
Holding such a strategic job for only 12 months leaves little room to make any real impact. As bright, skilled and experienced as he is, Andika will not be able to make his mark on the TNI in that period of time, nor will he be able to make many changes. Any real reforms will have to be relayed to his successor, and Andika will end up as a seat warmer for the next chief.
The appointment would also upset the unwritten agreement that the position is to rotate through representatives of the Army, Navy and Air Force. The 2004 TNI law states only that the job may be rotated among branches, but ignoring the convention risks upsetting the unity and cohesion of the force.
This should have been the Navy’s turn for leadership, which has been bypassed several times to make way for the Army.
The 2004 law also says that the TNI chief must have served as chief of staff. Adm. Yudo Margono has been through the rigorous selection process to become Navy chief of staff. He is as qualified as Andika for the top job, and his nomination would have been a no-brainer if we had stuck to the received spirit of the 2004 law.
Andika’s nomination strengthens the speculation that political considerations are at play and that the move resulted from negotiations with the powerful Army or with individual active or retired generals to serve their political interests. The 2024 elections are, of course, part of the proposed motivations.
But putting these rumors aside, where does this leave the TNI?
The 2004 law was part of a push for sweeping military reform to turn the TNI into a credible and professional force after decades spent propping up Soeharto’s regime. That reform is still underway to make the TNI a defense force the nation can be proud of.
Stopping or delaying these improvements to accommodate political interests undermines the TNI’s defense capabilities. Worse, if the rumors are true, it could drag the TNI back into the political arena.
