It has been 100 days since Prabowo Subianto, Indonesia’s 8thpresident took his oath of office. The retired army general-turned-politician was finally elected in his third attempt at the presidency – albeit by a slim majority. During the previous decade of President Joko (Jokowi) Widodo’s administration, Prabowo sat on the sidelines, waiting for his turn. And when it finally came, he wasted no time in announcing his own agenda and putting them into action.
His win came as no surprise, given the media hype throughout the election year and the massive support from the incumbent president, whose eldest son became his running mate. Here was the man once seen as a political black sheep with his less-than-stellar military record being recalled by opponents and activists, now holding the most powerful job in the country. How did he do it? Theories abound but one logical explanation could be the youthful electorate who chose him. The millennial and even a few of the Generation X voters tend to gloss over Prabowo’s past military record, enabling him to aspire towards respectability and politics. But the generally accepted explanation of his rise to power may be traced to the age-old give-and-take in politics. During Jokowi’s second and last term, Prabowo was named his defense chief and the former political foes became fast friends. When it was clear that Jokowi, according to the Indonesian Constitution, would not be able to serve a third term, lo and behold, his eldest son Gibran was nominated as Prabowo’s running mate. Imagine the havoc it created among the political parties. Jokowi – a card-carrying member of the PDIP, as was his son, jumping into the camp of Prabowo, chairman of the Gerindra Party – an old-time rival of PDIP. But what happened next was a political master-stroke. Jokowi and Prabowo formed KIM (Onward Indonesia Coalition) comprising 10 political parties – excluding PDIP – to support Prabowo and Gibran in the presidential elections. With the incumbent administration clearly on board, the road to victory was clear.
One never knows what ‘quid-pro-quos’ were made behind the scenes. But as in the past, the rewards of loyalty usually meant positions of power in government. Prabowo’s cabinet now comprise 48 ministers, 5 minister-level officials and 56 deputy ministers. That’s 109 senior officials, 109 official residences and 109 official cars and police escorts to serve them. In response to all the criticism, the President said, “Indonesia is a big country, it needs many administrators.” He is confident of managing them into a coordinated team that would support his policies of achieving socio-economic progress for the nation. Just to be sure, the President ordered them to attend a two-day orientation on the grounds of the National Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java.
After 100 days in office, surveys gave him a report card that can be described as a B- grade, noting the proclaimed success of the free meal program for school children, his backing down from introducing a general 12% VAT, and his refusal to pardon corruptors. The website of the KPK (Corruption Eradication Commission) announcing that all—except for one, newly-appointed 124 ministers and senior officials had declared their personal wealth added to the positive record. This had never happened before. And then, the media headlined Prabowo inaugurating 37 electricity projects around the country.
These are early days yet and the big question looming above every program, every project is just how much they will cost. The finance ministry is confident there is enough cash to support the new administration. And Prabowo envisions an 8% growth for Indonesia while the World Bank and economists say it will be more like 5.2%. We will hold our breath and give President Prabowo the benefit of the doubt. It’s his turn now.
Yuli Ismartono
