JAKARTA - Street protests broke out on Thursday after Indonesia’s parliament passed into law contentious revisions to the country’s military bill, which will allocate more civilian posts for military officers.
The bill has been criticised by civil society groups, who say it could take the world’s third-biggest democracy back to the draconian “New Order” era of former strongman President Suharto, when military officers dominated civilian affairs.
“Indonesia is becoming like Thailand or Myanmar, where soldiers increasingly occupy civilian positions,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia.
“The enemy is not a military coup or civil war, but Prabowo’s approach so far has shown a high degree of military involvement,” he said, referring to President Prabowo Subianto, himself a retired general.
Authorities had expected protests, deploying about 5,000 police and military personnel outside parliament with water cannons and tactical vehicles on Thursday morning.
Outside the parliament building, a coalition of student protesters unfurled banners, with one reading “Maintain Civilian Supremacy”, according to the live Kompas TV broadcast.
They vowed to continue their rallies until their demands were met, in a move reminiscent of demonstrations which last August successfully pressured lawmakers to abandon legal changes seen as entrenching power for the country’s elite.
Inside the House, Speaker Puan Maharani led the unanimous vote in a plenary council and officially passed the law, saying that it was in accordance with the principle of democracy and human rights.
President Prabowo, who took office last October and was a special forces commander under Suharto, has expanded the armed forces’ role into what were considered civilian areas, including for his flagship programme of free meals for children.
Rights groups have criticised the increased military involvement because they fear it may lead to abuses of power, human rights violations and impunity from consequences for soldiers’ actions.
The government has said the bill requires officers to resign from the military before assuming civilian posts at departments such as the state secretariat and the Ofice of the Attorney General.
A lawmaker also said officers could not join state-owned companies, to counter concerns that the military would be involved in business.
The new legislation revises a 2004 law aimed at reining in the military’s deep reach in politics and business under Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for three decades until his ouster amid street protests in the late 1990s.
It was passed at breakneck speed after Prabowo, Suharto’s former son-in-law, threw his support behind the effort despite concerns it could undermine one of the region’s most successful democracies by reviving dual-function policies in which military officers have civil roles.
“There is no reinstatement of the dual-function role in this revision,” said Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a senior politician from Prabowo’s political party.
Opposition is “understandable”, but discussions with stakeholders were extensive, he said.
The legal changes come as foreign investors are already questioning Indonesia’s economic direction under Prabowo, with heavy selling of stocks earlier this week partly due to fears, since dispelled, that the country’s long-serving finance minister would resign. (Story continues below)
A poster reading, “As if there is not enough work, taking a double job” is seen during protest outside the Indonesian parliament against a controversial military bill that will allocate more civilian posts for military officers, in Jakarta on March 20. Photo: Reuters)
Military influence
Officials have said the legal changes are necessary to address modern security challenges, citing cyber threats, terrorism, transnational crime and hybrid warfare. They argue that military involvement in non-combat operations, including food security and infrastructure projects, is essential to safeguard stability in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
“Indonesia’s armed forces must transform to support a realistic geostrategy in facing both conventional and non-conventional threats,” Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told lawmakers after the vote.
He said the revisions would clarify the limits and mechanisms for military involvement in non-combat roles, and also seek to improve soldiers’ welfare.
An informal expansion of military influence has already been in motion under Prabowo. Since taking office in October, the president has appointed active-duty officers to lead the state logistics agency and several ministries unrelated to defence.
The army also plays a key role in his flagship free lunch programme, while his defence ministry plans to establish territorial development battalions in every district across the sprawling archipelago to support his food self-sufficiency initiatives.
Critics nevertheless argue the new law is politically motivated, benefiting a select group of high-ranking officers.
“There’s a possibility Prabowo is looking after his allies while he remains in power,” said Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. “He wants his people to circulate before consolidating control.”