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Analysis: Early signs of militarization under Prabowo’s presidency
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President Prabowo Subianto (front, third left) attends a warm-up session during the retreat with members of his Red and White Cabinet at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, on Oct. 25, 2024. (-/Prabowo’s Media Team/Handout via Reuters)
T
he inauguration of Maj. Gen. Ariyo Windutomo as head of the Presidential Secretariat in place of Heru Budi Hartono on Nov. 29 has only reignited concerns about the so-called militarization of the government, which began with the appointment of ministers, deputy ministers and heads of government agencies with military backgrounds by President Prabowo Subianto, himself a retired Army general.
State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi installed Ariyo and 24 other second-echelon officials within the institution, which is not among the government agencies in which active military personnel are allowed to hold concurrent positions, according to the 2004 Indonesian Military (TNI) Law. The new officials include Maj. Gen. Kosasih as the presidential military secretary, while the others are civilians.
Among the members of Prabowo’s cabinet who used to serve in the military are Presidential Chief of Staff AM Putrato, Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Coordinating Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, Transmigration Minister Iftitah Sulaiman Suryanagara, Foreign Minister Sugiono, State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Muhammad Herindra and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Jaya.
Ariyo previously headed the Defense University’s supervisory unit and was head of the general affairs bureau at the Defense Ministry’s Secretariat General, while Kosasih was an expert staffer to then-defense minister Prabowo. Both Ariyo and Kosasih are said to have gained recognition after President Prabowo entrusted them to organize the cabinet retreat at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, in late October.
Ariyo, in particular, is a rising star in the military, having received two promotions from 2022 to 2024, becoming a two-star general. He is the third alumnus of the Military Academy’s class of 1996 to have obtained the rank of major general, after Maj. Gen. Deddy Suryadi, the Diponegoro regional commander overseeing Central Java, and Maj, Gen. Putranto Gatot Sri Handoyo, the Pattimura regional commander overseeing Maluku and North Maluku.
The appointment of former Defense Ministry officials to strategic posts, such as ministers and presidential secretary, is perceived to be part of President Prabowo’s efforts to solidify his authority in the government. After all, any president will name his or her trusted aides to sit in the government's core institutions.
The appointment of Maj. Teddy, a former adjutant of former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and a personal assistant of then-defense minister Prabowo, as cabinet secretary, however, caused controversy not because of his mid-level rank but because the appointment might violate the TNI Law.
