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Analysis: Prabowo seeks to align local leaders through military boot camp

Tenggara Strategics (The Jakarta Post)
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Jakarta
Wed, February 5, 2025

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Analysis: Prabowo seeks to align local leaders through military boot camp This handout picture President Prabowo Subianto shaking hands with a cadet during a visit to the military academy, where he is having a retreat with his cabinet ministers, in Magelang, Central Java. (AFP/Gerindra Party)

W

ith his first 100 days in office completed, President Prabowo Subianto continues to adopt a militaristic approach to governance. Following the November regional elections, Prabowo has mandated that all newly elected regional leaders attend a military boot camp at the National Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, scheduled for February. The initiative aims to foster greater synchronization between central and local administrations, according to a minister.  

First Deputy Home Minister Bima Arya has announced the two stages of this boot camp, to accommodate the large number of local government leaders, encompassing 38 governors, 416 regents and 98 mayors. The first batch of regional leaders will consist of around 297 regional leaders who are to be inaugurated directly by Prabowo himself on Feb. 20, alongside a group of regional leaders whose election disputes would have been resolved by the Constitutional Court. The second batch will consist of regional heads elected through court-mandated election reruns.  

Ministers, heads of governmental institutions and officials from state institutions such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) will give presentations during the excursion, whose program is being developed by the National Resilience Institute (Lemhanas). 

This initiative mirrors a similar boot camp held last October for Prabowo’s Red and White Cabinet ministers. However, the scale of the current endeavor raises concerns, given Indonesia’s vast administrative structure. Each jurisdiction’s governor, regent and mayor, along with their deputies, are expected to participate in different stages, creating logistical and financial challenges.

A major unanswered question remains: Who will fund the program? While Prabowo personally financed the previous cabinet retreat, it is unclear whether local administrations will be expected to bear the cost this time. 

Critics warn that Prabowo’s personal funding of state programs undermines the integrity of Indonesia’s democratic institutions. If the President continues bankrolling government initiatives, the checks and balances system could further erode, turning state policies into a matter of personal patronage.   

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While the administration portrays the boot camp as a team-building effort to improve coordination between central and local governments, critics argue that it serves a deeper purpose: A calculated display of authority to ensure regional leaders align with Prabowo’s vision.

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