In a twist of fate, the former Army general’s best shot at joining the branch has come thanks to his erstwhile opponent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

Amid a flurry of what appeared to be meetings over ministerial appointments at the State Palace on Monday and Tuesday, Prabowo's meeting with Jokowi stood out as a particular surprise. Prabowo told reporters after the meeting on Monday that he had been asked to help the President “in the field of defense”, an apparent reference to the position of defense minister.

Gerindra executive Riza Patria said Prabowo was uniquely suited to the position.

“Pak Prabowo is a military man who is clever, smart and has strong experience and networks inside and outside the country,” he said on Tuesday. “I am very optimistic that Indonesia’s defense under the leadership of Prabowo as defense minister, insya Allah, will become even better.”

Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto said his party was supportive of the President’s decision to appoint Prabowo as a minister.

“We have all voted for a president and vice president. We have given our trust to the President to determine the direction of the nation, including forming the postelection coalition,” he said on Monday night. “The posture of the upcoming government is a government with a spirit of mutual cooperation and embracement, which will provide strong solidity for us to overcome internal and external challenges.”

“The defense minister position is a very strategic one that is responsible for forming a general defense strategy.”

Rights activists were less enthused.

“Before Prabowo entered the Cabinet, democracy and civil rights had already declined,” Rivanlee Anandar of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

“Prabowo’s entrance into the Cabinet just serves to worsen these conditions because even a civilian president does not understand that human rights and democracy should be considerations in picking ministerial candidates.”

Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said he was concerned by the possibility that Jokowi would work together with someone who was "strongly suspected of being responsible for gross human rights violations".

"But we are not surprised because it happened before during [Jokowi's] first term," he said, referring to the appointment of former Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) commander Wiranto as coordinating political, legal and security affairs minister.

Prabowo, the son of prominent economist and Soeharto-era minister Sumitro Djojohadikoesoemo, has long sought a position in government, first running for the Golkar Party presidential nomination in 2004, then forming Gerindra as a vehicle for failed bids for the vice presidency in 2009 and for the presidency in 2014 and 2019.

Prabowo’s political career was preceded by a long and checkered military one — having enrolled in the Military Academy at the age of 19, Prabowo rose to the rank of lieutenant general and served in the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) before being appointed the commander of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) in 1998.

During his time in the Army, Prabowo was allegedly involved in the forced disappearances of 13 prodemocracy activists between 1997 and 1998 in his capacity as Kopassus commander. Besides the alleged kidnappings, he has also been accused of being involved in other human rights abuses, including the Army’s counterinsurgency operations in East Timor in the 1970s. He has repeatedly denied all allegations.

The potential appointment of Prabowo as defense minister was a result of Jokowi’s desire to consolidate power and maintain stability, while for Prabowo it was about realizing his ambition to make changes in the executive branch, said Firman Noor, head of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences' (LIPI) Political Research Center.

Indonesia Political Review executive director Ujang Komarudin agreed, saying that by obtaining a position in the Cabinet, both Prabowo and Gerindra could accumulate resources and power in preparation for the 2024 elections.

“If he does indeed become a minister, it is not impossible for Prabowo to run again in five years’ time,” he said.

However, Rivanlee raised concerns about naming Prabowo defense minister.

“The defense minister position is a very strategic one that is responsible for forming a general defense strategy,” he said. “We are worried that addressing the excessive force used by Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel will not be part of the military reform agenda in the future, considering Prabowo’s track record as an alleged human rights violator."

During a presidential debate on national security in March, Prabowo also emphasized that he wanted the country to be “ready for war”.

Firman said that this raised questions over whether Prabowo would change the country’s defense trajectory to become more offensive.

Prabowo’s appointment is also expected to disappoint many supporters on both sides, given the heated rivalry during the election campaigns.

“Legally there is nothing wrong with a losing candidate joining the government, but in terms of propriety, it does not sit well,” Ujang said.

Dyaning Pangestika contributed to this story.

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