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Next TNI chief: No shortage of choices for Jokowi

History shows those appointed the TNI chief have had close connections with the sitting president. 

Imanuddin Razak (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, September 7, 2023

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Next TNI chief: No shortage of choices for Jokowi

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very time an Indonesian Military (TNI) chief nears retirement, the nation reverts into a discourse, if not debate, on potential candidates for the commander post. The changing of the guard issue becomes more alluring when elections are approaching.

Now that incumbent TNI chief Adm. Yudo Margono will end his term in November this year, the public is curious as to who will take over from him. The succession is deemed critical, as whoever replaces Yudo will be responsible for safeguarding democracy from external threats and helping the police maintain security and order when the nation elects the new president in February 2024.

Unlike the general public, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who will leave office in October next year, has calmly responded to the TNI chief succession issue, suggesting that there is still plenty of time to discuss the matter before Yudo turns 58, the mandatory retirement age for high-ranking officers as stipulated in Article 53 of Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI, on Nov. 26.

The law says the TNI’s top post is open to any of the four-star generals who currently serve or have previously served as chief of staff in any of the three military services − the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. Article 13 of the law also suggests the rotation of the TNI leadership among the services, but this has never been rigidly implemented as in reality the selection of TNI chief depends on the president’s subjective wishes.

The TNI leadership during the transition period from outgoing president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Jokowi in 2014 is a good example. Back then the TNI chief post was held by Gen. Moeldoko of the Army, but as new president Jokowi opted to maintain Moeldoko for several months before appointing another Army general, Gatot Nurmantyo, to the post.

After more than two years on the job, Gatot was replaced by Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, who was at the helm for about four years. Jokowi picked another Army general, Andika Perkasa, as Hadi’s successor, and after 13 months named Yudo, of the Navy, as the new commander.

Yudo’s appointment was in compliance with the rotating TNI leadership clause stipulated in the 2004 law. Agus Suhartono was the first Navy officer to secure the TNI chief post under the mechanism in 2010.  However, it was fourth president Abdurrahman “Gus Dur” Wahid who initiated the rotation culture when appointing Navy chief Adm. Widodo Adi Sucipto the TNI chief in 1999.  

The choice for the TNI chief post is not necessarily associated with candidates’ academic achievements. During President Jokowi’s two terms in office, Moeldoko was the only TNI chief who received the prestigious Adhi Makayasa Award, which is given to the best graduate of the Military Academy. Moeldoko was the second Adhi Makayasa recipient to reach the TNI top post after Edi Sudrajat.

History shows those appointed the TNI chief have had close connections with the sitting president. Then-president Soeharto, for example, chose his former adjutant Try Sutrisno as the military chief in 1988. Later in 1993, Soeharto picked Try as his vice president.

As for Jokowi, he appointed Hadi the TNI chief in 2017 also due to the long-standing proximity between them. Hadi was the chief of the Adi Soemarmo Air Base in Surakarta, Central Java, when Jokowi was the mayor of that city.

Jokowi’s choice of Andika as the TNI chief could not be separated from the fact that the latter was commander of the Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) in 2014-2016.

President Jokowi has a number of potential names to succeed Yudo. However, it is unlikely that he will choose another Navy officer due to the rotating leadership stipulation. Should the President opt to appoint an Army general, it is also unlikely that the choice will be the current Army Chief of Staff Gen. Dudung Abdurrahman as he will retire in November like Yudo.

Potential candidates apparently come from the pool of three-star Army generals who will replace Dudung before being promoted to the TNI chief in less than one month.

Of a total of 17 three-star Army generals, two of them, Lt. Gen. Agus Subiyanto and Lt. Gen. Maruli Simanjuntak, stand a good chance, not only because they have more than two years of active military duties, but also because of their “closeness” to the President.

Agus, the current deputy Army chief, served as commander of Paspampres (2020-2021) in place of Maruli, who was chief of Paspampres in 2018-2020. Maruli is son-in-law of Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Pandjaitan, one of Jokowi’s most trusted confidants, and now serves as chief of the Army’s Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad).

Should the President decide to rigidly apply the rotating TNI leadership, the post will go to the Air Force. The current Air Force Chief of Staff Fadjar Prasetyo is an unlikely choice as he will turn 58 next April.

There are seven three-star Air Force officers ready to fill Fadjar’s shoes, but only three of them have a realistic chance. They are Air Vice Marshal Samsul Rizal, commander of the TNI Staff and Command School; Air Vice Marshal Mohamad Tonny Harjono, chief of the National Air Operation Command; and Air Vice Marshal Tedi Rizalihadi, chief of the Air Force Education and Training Command. Of the three, Samsul and Tony have an edge. Samsul was the 1990 recipient of the Adhi Makayasa Award, while Tonny was chief of the Adi Soemarmo Air Base (2016-2018) and the Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base (2018-2020) and President Jokowi’s military secretary (2020-2022).

This scenario could change, however, if the Constitutional Court rules in favor of a number of active and retired military officers who have filed a judicial review against Article 53 of the 2004 TNI Law. The plaintiffs demand that the retirement age for both low-ranking and high-ranking officers be increased from the current 53 and 58, to 58 and 60, respectively. 

If that happens, Yudo may have his term as the TNI chief extended. However, such a ruling will also open up the possibility for Dudung and Fadjar to win Jokowi’s trust as TNI chief.

At the end of the day, the choice is up to the President who has the prerogative to appoint the TNI commander. He has quite an abundance of eligible names in his pocket. We shall see who is the chosen one soon.

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The writer is a journalist.

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