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Analysis: Prabowo revives plan to amend TNI Law
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Indonesia's elite military unit Kopasus parade in formation during an exercise at a naval base in Cilegon, West Java province on October 3, 2015 in preparation for the 70th anniversary celebration of the Indonesian Armed Forces on October 5 to be led by Indonesian President Joko Widodo. (AFP/Romeo Gacad)
T
he Indonesian Military (TNI) Law has joined the priority list of this year’s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas), after failing to make it in the 2019-2024 term of the House of Representatives. The revision comes as President Prabowo Subianto shows a tendency to involve the military in his flagship programs.
The House leaders have entrusted Commission I overseeing defense to deliberate the draft revision of the TNI Law. During the previous term, the job was given to the House’s Legislation Body (Baleg) in an attempt to accelerate the revision process, but it failed.
Following the inauguration of the House members for the 2024-2029 term last October, Commission I only tabled revision of the Broadcasting Law in its priority list of legislation. The TNI Law revision now looks to take center stage as Prabowo, a former Army general, needs it to justify his intention to increasingly give the military roles in civilian affairs.
The revision of the TNI Law comes on the heels of the rearrangement of the National Resilience Council (Wantannas) into the National Defense Council (DPN) through a presidential regulation (Perpres) that Prabowo signed last December.
The Prabowo administration is also planning to establish 100 Territorial Development Battalions, which will help the government realize its food security agenda. The government has also appointed Maj. Gen. Novi Helmy Prasetya as the new president director of the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), who will carry a mission to support the food self-sufficiency and free nutritious meal programs, confirming the indispensable role of the military in the Prabowo administration.
The plan to revise the TNI Law also stems from debates in the Constitutional Court following a judicial review filed against the existing TNI Law, arguing that the retirement age for TNI personnel is unfair when compared with the retirement age of all other public servants, such as policemen, government employees, teachers, prosecutors and judges, who enjoy longer service periods of up to 60 and 70 years old.
The existing TNI Law says that the retirement age of middle and high-ranking military officers is 58, and for non-commissioned officers and privates, 53.
