Tug-of-War Between Military, Police Under Jokowi
Following the awkward debacle
of suspended military cooperation with Australia, in another maverick moment,
Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo told the press he might soon be replaced as chief of the
Indonesian Military, or TNI, hinting that he had somehow fallen out of favor
but later explaining that at any rate, he was nearing retirement.
He then made
an "exposé" about how little power the TNI chief had in the
procurement of military hardware under a 2015 law that grants the Ministry of
Defense sole responsibility for such acquisitions. Ruing his loss of control
over procurement, he said: "If this [erosion of the TNI chief's
prerogatives] continues, then the commander will have no authority
whatsoever."
The new law
must have come as a great disappointment to the armed forces, just when they
were expecting significant rises in defense spending. In the 2017 state budget,
defense is one of the 10 biggest spenders at Rp 104.4 trillion ($7.85 billion),
compared to the Rp 72.4 trillion allocated to the National Police. The figures
are expected to increase as the president has made a promise to jack up defense
spending to around Rp 250 trillion a year.
The figures
must have been music to the generals' ears, since defense procurement in the
past was an area in which the top brass of the military could make significant
economic gains through "commission fees" from defense contractors as
well as other "markups." By relocating the procurement responsibility
to the Ministry of Defense, the government effectively closed off another
significant "economic access" previously enjoyed by military
grandees.
In airing
his disappointment, Gatot was perhaps being true to his brash indiscreet self,
a side Jokowi had evidently missed, or underestimated when considering him for
the top job. However, the general's penchant for talking to the press and
delivering incendiary lectures – in one of which he described feeding
hypothetical Chinese refugees to the sharks – may also suggest that he is
trying to craft a careful image of himself as an all-action patriot ready to
embark on great things. Judging by former President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's
political success story, former army generals with popular appeal can still do
well electorally.
It is also
noteworthy that Gatot's unbosoming to the press came after the police scored an
important political triumph in shoring up the president's authority during the
populist Islamist rallies in November and December last year. The
rallies, purportedly against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok"
Tjahjaja Purnama – a Christian of Chinese descent who is accused of blaspheming
against Islam – were on the verge of turning into protests against the
government and ultimately, the president.
With
a turnout of hundreds of thousands, the Islamist protests represented the
first real challenge to Jokowi's presidency. To blunt the blow, the police duly
arrested several "agitators" on treason charges on the morning of
last year's Dec. 2 rally. National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian,
handpicked by Jokowi in July last year, threw his weight behind the president
and proved to be in his element by being seen to contain the possible excesses
of the rallies through a combination of negotiations and strong-arm tactics.
In contrast,
the armed forces did not seem overly eager to come to the president's aid
during the turbulent months. Instead, Gatot expounded his pet theory to the
press, arguing that radicalism and "pitting Indonesians against one
another" as evident in the gubernatorial election campaign, was another
proxy war designed by foreign powers.
More
seriously, Gatot is said to have strong links to hardline Muslim groups such as
the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI), which served as the field operators for the
recent Islamist rallies against the government. Seasoned Indonesia
correspondent John McBeth considers the allegation to have some merit. He quoted
a retired general in an article, writing: "Playing games with Muslim
groups is a result of a rotting situation… They want to show that the Army is
still needed and they have no concerns about the problems it creates."
If true,
then Tito, with the president's blessing, deftly turned the tables on the cabal
Army group wishing to create an untenable situation, which would have
necessitated military intervention. Far from humiliating the police for their
inability to control the masses, it allowed them to swoop in and save the
day for the president.
The triumph
of the police in securing the president's gratitude took place at the expense
of the military. Yet, this temporary political setback for the military does
not mean the end of rivalry between the forces. The police, being the most
involved with civilians, inevitably has the advantage over the TNI in post-Reformasi
Indonesia.
However, in
its interaction with the people also lies the police's weakness. A 2015 survey
by Transparency International, for instance, placed the police as one of the
most corrupt government agencies as perceived by the public. Apart from taking
and demanding bribes, police officers are also known for operating strictly
illegal "businesses" on the sidelines, such as "security money"
demanded from businesses and individual officers commandeering lucrative urban
"parking spaces" in conjunction with gangsters, or preman.
Now that the
president is indebted to the police, it remains to be seen if Jokowi can push
through further reform within the force to combat rampant corruption. Failure
to do so might just provide the military with another avenue to power. The
president certainly has his work cut out for him in balancing between the
forces.
The specter
of the armed forces' tentacles in Indonesian politics is real enough to warrant
vigilance, although the country's democracy has fared better than its Thai
counterpart in this respect. The dwifungsi may have been formally
abolished, but its roots are buried deep. Corny as it may sound, a military
uniform tends to inspire confidence in the country, so much so that President
Sukarno, who never had military training, spent the last years of his life
wearing his military honors in the most conspicuous manner.
If Gatot
truly has political aspirations after he retires, and provided he can secure
enough political backing, we may see him compete in the 2019 presidential
election, alongside Prabowo Subianto and perhaps Yudhoyono's son Agus
Harimurti. Indonesia's days of pseudo-military leaders are apparently not over
yet. Not by far.
Johannes
Nugroho is a writer from Surabaya.
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