The nomination was confirmed in a presidential letter sent to the House of Representatives on Wednesday, quashing all speculation that a candidate from the Navy (TNI-AL) might take over the reins of the nation’s armed forces.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, House Speaker Puan Maharani confirmed that the Jokowi administration had submitted a letter seeking the House’s approval to make Andika the next military commander.

“The President has proposed just one name for House approval. Today, [the government] submitted a presidential letter proposing Gen. Andika Perkasa to be the candidate for TNI commander,” Puan told reporters.

Even as the sole candidate, Andika must still be vetted for the post by lawmakers, although he is already highly favored among members of House Commission I, which oversees defense, foreign affairs, information and intelligence that will be in charge of his confirmation hearing.

Once confirmed, he will replace Hadi, a close aide of Jokowi, who will vacate his post at the end of the month.

 

Charting success

A graduate from the class of 1987 at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java, Andika led a decorated career in the Army and quickly moved up the ranks after serving in Timor Leste, Aceh and Papua in the 1990s.

He was credited with the capture of Al-Qaeda terrorist leader Omar Al-Faruq in a 2002 sting operation that also involved his father-in-law, then-State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief AM Hendropriyono.

At least in part due to his links via Hendropriyono to the ruling Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), Jokowi named Andika head of his presidential security detail (Paspampres) following his election win in 2014.

Prior to his promotion as Army chief of staff in November 2018, ahead of the 2019 general elections, Andika briefly led the Army’s doctrines, education and training command (Kodiklatad) in Bandung, West Java, before being appointed Army Strategic Reserves Commander (Pangkostrad) that same year.

The President appointed him deputy head of the state’s COVID-19 mitigation and national economic recovery committee (KPC-PEN) last year, highlighting his growing role and responsibilities in the Jokowi administration.

House Commission I is to hold a confirmation hearing for the candidate from Thursday until Friday. The House Steering committee (Bamus) has also decided that the results of the test would be brought up during a plenary meeting on Nov. 8 – Hadi’s 58th birthday.

“In the next five days, there will be a decision from the House regarding the post of TNI commander," said Puan.

The PDI-P politician said that the change in TNI leadership would get the House’s full attention because of its strategic importance in tackling various challenges in national defense.

“It is expected that the new commander will be able to respond to and anticipate the dynamic geopolitical developments and emergent battlefields [of cybersecurity] and technology that can threaten the nation’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and safety,” she said.

 

Last-minute decision

Meanwhile, State Secretary Minister Pratikno said the President had made up his mind about nominating Andika prior to leaving for his three-country tour last week.

“We really hope to be able to get approval as soon as possible so that the government can immediately issue the presidential decree to inaugurate the new TNI commander before the incumbent’s tenure ends,” he told reporters.

Experts have previously speculated over the two-horse race between Andika and Navy chief of staff Adm. Yudo Margono, as both candidates have rallied support in a bid to influence the President’s final decision.

Yudo is also known as a close ally of Jokowi, but the signs have been pointing to Andika prior to the reveal by Puan.

In mid-October, Pratikno met with Andika at the Army (TNI-AD) Headquarters, where they reportedly chatted over the renovations for the facilities there, as seen in a video posted on the Army’s Youtube channel.

Andika was also the only high-ranking TNI officer to accompany Jokowi before he departed for his overseas visit to Italy late last month. At the time, Hadi was in Singapore to receive the honorary Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang award, also known as the Distinguished Service Order, by Singapore President Halimah Yacob.

 

Missing fulcrum

Analysts say that Andika’s exploits in overseeing Garuda Shield, the largest joint military exercise between Indonesia and the United States, is said to be a contributing factor in Jokowi’s decision to back him. The drills were aimed at improving military ties between the two sides, at a time when they are renewing overall ties.

"The other two chiefs of staff did not carry out exercises such as the Garuda Shield, partly because they had to refocus their budgets [elsewhere]," said military analyst Andi Widjajanto, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Khairul Fahmi, security analyst at the Institute of Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS), predicted that Andika’s appointment might possibly spell disappointment within the Navy, as no high-ranking officer from the branch had served as top commander under the Jokowi government.

“[Andika] would need to consolidate forces within the TNI quickly while he pursues the state defense policy, as he is set to retire at the end of 2022,” he told The Jakarta Post.

The new TNI commander is likely to face more maritime challenges in the year ahead, Khairul noted, as Indonesia comes to terms with the AUKUS defense group and tensions in waters adjacent to the South China Sea.

Early on, Jokowi had pledged to turn the country into a global maritime fulcrum (GMF), but the concept all but disappeared as he started his second term in office.

“It is not strange that Pak Jokowi then picked the Army chief of staff, because the global maritime fulcrum has not been on Jokowi’s mind throughout his second term,” said defense analyst Anton Alliabas of Paramadina University.