Under President Prabowo Subianto, the military has steadily taken over roles that were once held by civilians, signaling how central the military has become to the current government. Critics warn that this could lead to a revival of Indonesia’s authoritarian past.

Jakarta

Indonesia's military is taking on expanded roles beyond traditional defense, with soldiers now involved in civilian activities such as farming and serving school meals. President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, has promoted the armed forces as a model for government and has enacted laws allowing high-ranking officers to occupy powerful civilian positions. 

Student groups challenged these changes, drawing parallels to the dual-function military system of the Suharto era, but their legal challenge was dismissed by the constitutional court. Critics, including activists and former military officials, warn that increased reliance on the military could undermine democratic progress and civil freedoms, as Indonesia marks the military's 80th anniversary.

Indonesians fear authoritarian shift as military's role grows

Indonesia's army is no longer just preparing to be combat ready. Soldiers are now working on farms and serving school meals. President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, sees the armed forces as a role model, even for his own cabinet. At a military-style retreat, Prabowo drilled his ministers on his vision for governing. During the colonial era, we were treated lower than animals. So our nation needs a strong military. No country can be truly independent without a powerful army. And it's that power the president wants to see in government too. A revised law now allows him to place high-ranking officers in powerful civilian posts. Student organisations filed a legal challenge to the move, but it was dismissed by the constitutional court. The students say Prabowo's policy shift reminded them of the dual-function military of the past. It's the mix of politics and security that Indonesia dismantled after the fall of the New Order, the regime of the long-time authoritarian ruler Suharto. We never lived through the New Order era and we don't want to experience it either. But what we're seeing doesn't look much different. Civil space is being silenced, activists are being criminalised, and laws are being pushed through that go against public reason, against people's will. Using the military to consolidate power is a familiar playbook, says this former general, who helped end the dual function during Indonesia's democratic transition. Soldiers are loyal, disciplined and highly organised. But he warns that politicians must prove they can lead without leaning on the army. So why do you have to pull the military out of their professional domain into a more wider domain where it is not in their specialty. If we rely too much on the military, and if a country relies on the military, they will never be an advanced country. Now the military is preparing to celebrate its 80th anniversary. Whether it stays at the centre of public life beyond the celebrations is what Indonesians are watching closely.

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