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Jokowi to nominate Andika’s successor next week
President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to nominate his pick for the next Indonesian Military (TNI) chief next week, with a lawmaker indicating that the retiring commander may be replaced by Navy chief of staff Admiral Yudo Margono
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New commander: President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurates Gen. Andika Perkasa as the Indonesian Military (TNI) chief at the Presidential Palace in Central Jakarta, on Nov. 17. (Reuters/Presidential Palace/Agus Suparto)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is set to nominate his pick for the next Indonesian Military (TNI) chief next week, with a lawmaker indicating that the retiring commander may be replaced by Navy chief of staff Admiral Yudo Margono.
House of Representatives secretary-general Indra Iskandar confirmed on Wednesday that a presidential letter naming Jokowi’s nominee for the next TNI commander would be submitted to House Speaker Puan Maharani on Monday of next week.
“The State Secretary [Pratikno] will hand over the letter to Puan on [Monday]. The time is still unconfirmed," Indra said, declining to reveal who the sole candidate would be.
Speculation about who will succeed Gen. Andika Perkasa, who was appointed last year to replace then-TNI commander Hadi Tjahjanto of the Air Force, have intensified as the military chief nears retirement age in December.
Lawmakers expect Jokowi to name his nominee before the House goes into recess in mid-December so they have time to hold a confirmation hearing.
Jokowi has kept his preference a secret, but recent signs have pointed to Yudo, including the Navy chief’s meeting with State Secretary Pratikno behind closed doors at Merdeka Palace on Monday.
Some lawmakers on House Commission I overseeing defense said Yudo, who will retire in November of next year, had the upper hand in the race for the TNI chief post, given that no representative of the Navy had yet helmed the TNI during Jokowi’s presidency.
