JakartaPost-May 7, 2025
President Prabowo Subianto has made it clear he is in full control of his administration, brushing off perceptions of being under former president Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s shadow. In front of his cabinet on Monday, Prabowo firmly said that while he consults with Jokowi and other former presidents, he is an independent leader who charts the course of his administration on his own terms. “I have heard people say that I am a puppet president. It is as if Pak Jokowi calls me every night. I’m telling you that is not true,” Prabowo told the cabinet meeting. “Consulting with those who have led [the nation] before is not a weakness; it’s a sign of wisdom,” he said. He noted that he has also met with former presidents Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who co-founded the pro-government Democratic Party, and Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs the de facto opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) and who is Jokowi’s former matron-turned-rival. “If I could meet Gus Dur [Abdurrahman Wahid], Soeharto or even Sukarno, I would,” Prabowo added, referring to late former presidents. The remarks came amid growing speculations about Jokowi’s lingering influence on Prabowo’s administration, fueled by a series of visits from incumbent ministers and regional heads, as well as high-ranking military and police officers to Jokowi at his home in Surakarta, Central Java, last month. Some of the visits took place when Prabowo was away for his Middle East tour, and two cabinet ministers publicly referred to Jokowi as their boss after the visits despite them now serving Prabowo. Prabowo won the election by a landslide with the help of Jokowi’s popularity and political clout, in what was widely interpreted as a quid-pro-quo that would ensure the former president maintains influence after a decade in charge. Read more at:
https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2025/05/07/im-in-charge-says-prabowo.html.
