Last week, President Prabowo Subianto relayed a cautious response through Special Presidential Advisor on Political and Security Affairs Wiranto to appease demands from the group to remove “corrupt ministers” and unseat the vice president. The group said Gibran’s nomination in the last election, paved by a last-minute controversial Constitutional Court ruling, violated procedural rules.

Shortly thereafter, Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Agus Subiyanto, who rose to power under Prabowo’s predecessor Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Gibran’s father, issued an order to reassign more than 200 senior officers, including Lt. Gen. Kunto Arief Wibowo.

Kunto is the son of former vice president Try Sutrisno, who is among the retired generals demanding Gibran’s removal.

However, a day after the announcement, Agus abruptly canceled Kunto’s reassignment from his position as the commander of First Joint Defense Regional Command (Kogabwilhan I), which covers the land, water and air areas from Sumatra to Kalimantan.

Hints at tensions

The swift correction of the reshuffle, on top of the retirees’ demands, has since drawn scrutiny toward the military, long seen as an organization with unwavering support for each of the country’s sitting administrations.