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.
‘I’m in charge’, says Prabowo
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Affirming his independence: President Prabowo Subianto gestures while addressing his cabinet members on Monday during a meeting at the Presidential Office in Jakarta. In the meeting, Prabowo asserted his authority amid growing perceptions of being under former president Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo's shadow. (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto has made it clear he is in full control of his administration, brushing off perceptions of being under former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s shadow.
In front of his cabinet on Monday, Prabowo firmly said that while he consults with Jokowi and other former presidents, he is an independent leader who charts the course of his administration on his own terms.
“I have heard people say that I am a puppet president. It is as if Pak Jokowi calls me every night. I’m telling you that is not true,” Prabowo told the cabinet meeting.
“Consulting with those who have led [the nation] before is not a weakness; it’s a sign of wisdom,” he said.
He noted that he has also met with former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who co-founded the pro-government Democratic Party, and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs the de facto opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and who is Jokowi’s former matron-turned-rival.
“If I could meet Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid], Soeharto or even Sukarno, I would,” Prabowo added, referring to late former presidents.
The remarks came amid growing speculations about Jokowi’s lingering influence on Prabowo’s administration, fueled by a series of visits from incumbent ministers and regional heads, as well as high-ranking military and police officers to Jokowi at his home in Surakarta, Central Java, last month.
