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View all search resultsPrabowo’s new job potential threat to security reform
Jokowi wants Prabowo “to orchestrate” the work of collecting and production of intelligence information carried out by a wide range of institutions.
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P
resident Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has caused a stir for tapping Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, his erstwhile rival-turned-ally, to coordinate intelligence affairs, a move that analysts said contravened existing laws and could pose a setback for the country’s security reform.
Last week, Jokowi said he wanted Prabowo “to orchestrate” the work of collecting and the production of intelligence information carried out by a wide range of institutions, from the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), the intelligence departments of the military and the police to the National Cyber and Encryption Agency (BSSN). “So that we can get reliable information, which can help determine how policies are made,” the President said.
This quickly set off speculation that BIN would be placed under Prabowo’s watch but the minister clarified on Monday that he would only work as “a kind of coordinator” of the collection of intelligence information carried out by the relevant spy agencies, and “help [the President] judge the merit of the information”.
Dahnil Azhar Simanjuntak, spokesman for the minister, told The Jakarta Post that the information in question was only “defense intelligence information related to geopolitics and geostrategy, so that the government can make the right decisions related to global situations”.
There has yet to be any further information or plan released by Jokowi’s office. Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, the Executive Office of the President's undersecretary for politics, law, security and human rights affairs, did not respond to questions from the Post but referred to Prabowo’s Monday clarification.
Military analyst Stanislaus Riyanta said that “a more detailed explanation from the government regarding any changes in the orchestration of intelligence information" was needed to provide more clarity. Stanislaus presumed that the intelligence information in question could actually be “specifically related to defense, collected from various sources, which then would be analyzed to support decisionmaking at the Defense Ministry”.
While the exchange of information between intelligence agencies is a common practice given the wide spectrum of threats that are often intersecting, Stanislaus noted: “The process must still be in accordance with what has been mandated by the law, especially regarding the coordinating function carried out by BIN.”
