Critics of President Prabowo Subianto point to the former defense minister's early actions as a worrying sign of his tendency to replace civilian functions with the military, raising comparisons to a Soeharto-era doctrine called "dwifungsi" (dual function) that allowed the armed forces to crush dissent and dominate public life.

Just three months into office after sweeping to a landslide election victory last year, Prabowo has quickly expanded the armed forces' roles in several public areas—including running much of his flagship project to serve free school meals.

His allies in parliament are also preparing legislation that would allow Prabowo to appoint active military officers into senior government positions, dismantling some of the safeguards put in place after Soeharto was overthrown in 1998 following an economic crisis and popular uprising.

Prabowo's resounding victory in last year's election was largely driven by younger voters, polls showed, a generation with little or no memory of Soeharto's military-backed New Order regime.

Soeharto, who was Prabowo’s former father-in-law, had been a middle-ranking military officer when he took over from Sukarno, the country’s first president and founding father, in 1966.

Soeharto rose to power amid a bloody communist purge that had brought down the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI), then Sukarno’s strongest ally, and killed hundreds of thousands of people accused to be communists.

Prabowo, a son of renowned economist Soemitro Djojohadikusumo, was a special forces commander under his repressive 32-year reign and was later dismissed from the military amid unproven allegations of human rights abuses.

Supporters of Prabowo, who has denied past rights abuses, say tapping the military for important projects offers efficiencies.

But critics see in Prabowo's moves, including a recent expansion of military command structure, a worrying lurch towards re-militarization in the world's largest Muslim-majority country.

"He's not abiding by civil supremacy," said analyst Yanuar Nugroho of Prabowo.

"He instead wants to restore the glory of military ... where various kinds of civic-works can be done by the military, arguing it will be faster, more effective," said Yanuar, a former deputy chief of presidential staff to Prabowo's predecessor, Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

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Prabowo's office did not respond to repeated requests for comment on military deployment for government projects.

Although not replicating the "dual function" of the past, Prabowo's early reliance on the military is raising concerns among Indonesian observers about the undoing of democratic reforms that sprang up after Soeharto was ousted.

"There's a lot of aspects of the Prabowo administration that are seeking to replicate what existed under his former father-in-law Soeharto," said political analyst and author of the Indonesia-focused newsletter Reformasi Weekly, Kevin O'Rourke. "Restoring military roles in politics is one aspect."

Under Soeharto, there were no checks and balances and the military was also involved in business, O'Rourke said, adding that the same pattern now could erode democratic oversight of government institutions, affecting policymaking.

Combat-trained cooks and farmers

Prabowo, who had a 81 percent approval rating after his first 100 days in office, has wasted little time in handing over large projects to the armed forces since taking office. The most visible example has been his US$28 billion signature project to provide free school meals.

Air Force Colonel Satrya Dharma Wijaya is a case in point.

His usual job is aircraft maintenance, but since November, he has been busy ordering stoves, refrigerators and frying pans to cook meals for thousands of children at a time at a base in Jakarta.

"This was previously a marshalling area where we prepared troops to deploy for an assignment," said Satrya, wearing his short-sleeved blue uniform at Halim Perdanakusuma air base's newly expanded kitchen.

Students eat lunches on Sept. 26, 2024, as part of a trial of the free nutritious meals program during their break time at school in Sukabumi, West Java. (REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan)

The military was running 100 of the 190 kitchens operating by the project's launch in collaboration with the newly formed National Nutrition Agency, cooking up and delivering food for 570,000 children on its opening day.

Army chief General Maruli Simanjuntak said that a plan is under way for the military to form 100 special "territorial development" units assigned to farming, fisheries and animal husbandry.

Prabowo has also moved swiftly to vastly expand other military-run projects established when he was defense minister.

A program for soldiers to clear land for cultivation has been increased by 50-fold with the aim of boosting Indonesia's food security from an initial 60,000 hectares to a projected 3 million hectares—an area about the size of Belgium.

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He has also ordered the expansion of another of his projects, directing the Air Force to convert its idle land into rice and corn fields to be managed by soldiers and villagers to supply food for the free-meals project.

In addition, he has declared a nationwide extension of a third small military civil-works initiative—laying water pipes for plumbing and irrigation in remote, poor areas.

Army chief Simanjuntak said that turning to soldiers to help run large programs is effective, as the army follows a strong chain of command, adding that rules are in place to prevent military repression.

"It's impossible to return to the New Order (Suharto) era. There's no way," Simanjuntak said.

Soldiers leading ministries?

One key area of concern for critics is around upcoming legislation that would allow Prabowo to appoint active duty military officers to top government jobs for first time in decades.

The legislation, prepared by Prabowo's allies, will soon go before parliament where the president's coalition controls 74 percent of seats. The bill will be deliberated in coming months, several lawmakers told Reuters.

The president has already tapped former military officers for top roles—such as Foreign Minister Sugiono, who served in the army's special forces before retiring.

Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, deputy speaker of parliament from Prabowo's Gerindra party, said the president should be free to appoint active officers anywhere in government.

"These strategic programmes must be run by people who are disciplined, highly committed and have been trained to be responsible and disciplined," Sufmi said.

'Democratic backsliding'

But even some former military men have concerns about Prabowo's instinct to turn to the armed forces.

"Don't give a blank check where soldiers could be placed at any posts. It will ruin the system," retired Lt. Gen. Agus Widjojo, one of several generals who led post-Soeharto military reforms, told Reuters.

Widjojo said the tendency would have policy implications by weakening civilian institutions.

Analyst Yanuar said he fears the trend of militarization under Prabowo will lead to a "democratic backsliding" and centralization of power.

"A strong president who is backed by a strong military with almost full control in the parliament," Yanuar said. "This is similar to Soeharto: military with dual function."