The recent rotation of senior
officers carried out by Indonesia’s new military chief Hadi Tjahjanto is seen
as a strategic move by President Joko Widodo to secure his men for the top
posts in the Army (TNI AD) amid a looming presidential election next year.
Shortly after his
inauguration as the new commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces
(TNI), Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto took the unprecedented step of
annulling a reshuffle of senior officers initiated by his predecessor, General
Gatot Nurmantyo. The reshuffle was carried out just four days before Gen Gatot
was to formally hand over the commandership of the military to his successor on
8 December 2017.
In the last three
months of 2017, Gen Gatot did two reshuffles: one on 27 October and the other
on 4 December. Unlike the reshuffle of 27 October, the 4 December leadership
changes were puzzling. The second reshuffle involved 85 officers consisting 46
from the army, 28 from the Navy and 11 from the Air Force. It was baffling why
Gen Gatot shifted some officers who previously held strategic appointments to
lesser positions. For example, Maj Gen Imam Edy Mulyono, formerly Chief of
Staff of the Army’s Strategic and Reserve Command (Kostrad), was reassigned as
“Special Staff to the Army Chief of Staff”. Another rotation which attracted
public attention was the replacement of Lt Gen Edy Rachmayadi as Kostrad commander
by Maj Gen Sudirman who was the Security Assistant to the Army’s Chief of
Staff.
Why the Puzzlement
The 4 December
reshuffle raised questions for at least two reasons: the timing and ACM Hadi’s
decision to reverse it. The timing was considered sensitive because Gen Gatot
issued it shortly before he stepped down as commander-in-chief. A defence
expert from the University of Indonesia, Connie Rahakundini Bakrie, even called
it a “time bomb” from Gen Gatot to ACM Hadi.
Watchdogs and NGOs,
for instance Imparsial, considered Gen Gatot’s decision to carry on with the
reshuffle as an unethical step. Both comments were based on an interpretation
that Gen Gatot’s move could create internal conflict and obstruct ACM Hadi’s
path by placing the outgoing chief’s men in key positions.
In what was see as a tit-for-tat move on 19 December 2017, ACM
Hadi removed 16 high-ranking army officers from the reshuffle list. This
unexpected step evoked more questions. Since ACM Hadi revoked only 16 out of 46
army officers, including Lt Gen Edy’s resignation, the spotlight was mostly
directed on ACM Hadi’s attitude towards the replacement for the most strategic
positions such as the Kostrad commander from Lt Gen Edy to Maj Gen Sudirman.
Speculation was rife about whether ACM Hadi saw Maj Gen Sudirman as Gen
Gatot’s man and therefore decided not to give him a strategic position within
the army. It is worth remembering that the Kostrad commander functions as the
most strategic three-star officer tasked with leading joint annual exercises
and other combined services activities.
ACM Hadi’s official statements following the reversal of the 4 December
reshuffle by Gen Gatot merely underlined career development as justification
for his move. His subsequent reshuffle on 4 January 2018, however, may have the
effect of confirming some of the speculation.
4 January Reshuffle: Positioning for Army Chief?
On 4 January 2018, ACM Hadi issued the Commander’s Decree (Keputusan
Panglima TNI) which rotated 20 high-ranking officers. The main highlight was
the appointment of Lt Gen Agus Kriswanto, formerly head of the Army’s training
school (Kodiklat AD) as the commander of Kostrad. Another highlight was that of
Maj Gen Andika Perkasa, an area commander, to replace him as head of Kodiklat
AD. These positions are said to be stepping stones for an officer to become a
strong candidate for Army Chief of Staff (KSAD).
Aside from these positions, there is also the Deputy KSAD (Wakasad),
currently held by Lt Gen Tatang Sulaiman. There are other three-star positions
from outside the army structure which could also be stepping stones to KSAD,
such as the Secretary General of the Ministry for Political, Legal, and
Security Affairs (Menkopolhukam) and the Secretary General of the Ministry of
Defence (Kemhan).
Gen Mulyono will retire in January 2019, the year of the presidential
election; thus his successor might be appointed sometime this year to prepare
for the upcoming election. Nevertheless, Lt Gen Agus is unlikely to succeed Gen
Mulyono as KSAD because he too will be retiring, in August 2018. The
appointment of Lt Gen Agus as Kostrad commander might therefore be a strategic
move by ACM Hadi and President Joko (“Jokowi”) to buy time before finding the
right person or probably, groom a trusted officer.
New Chief of Army on the Horizon?
Maj Gen Andika Perkasa is believed to be groomed for the position of
KSAD in the near future. His career has soared under the Jokowi presidency due
to his personal relationship with the Megawati confidant AM Hendropriyono.
Aside from being a retired general himself, Mr Hendropriyono is also a trusted
adviser of President Jokowi.
Maj Gen Andika is, interestingly, the son-in-law of retired general
Hendropriyono. He came into prominence after his promotion as commander of the
Presidential Security Detail (Paspampres) from 2014 to 2016. His credentials
for this position were, however, questioned as he spent most of his military
career studying overseas, thus lacking operational experience. His recent
rotation as the head of Kodiklat AD also means that he has been promoted as
lieutenant general, becoming the most senior officer among his cohort.
Maj Gen Andika’s accelerated promotion to KSAD could draw criticism
within TNI AD circles and raise public concerns. The path from Kodiklat head to
KSAD is not straightforward. But Gen Gatot and Gen Mulyono both served in
Kodiklat AD as head and deputy respectively before rising to Kostrad commander
and finally KSAD.
Andika Perkasa’s Road to KSAD
Andika Perkasa’s Road to KSAD
If the paths taken by Gen Gatot and Gen Mulyono to becoming KSAD are
followed, Maj Gen Andika may likely replace Lt Gen Agus Kriswanto as Kostrad
chief when he retires. Shifting Maj Gen Andika closer to the centre of the
command structure is a strategic move to prepare him to become KSAD.
We might expect more names to move up, such as the young colonel Maruli
Simanjuntak, who is the son-in-law of another retired general, Luhut
Pandjaitan, a cabinet ally of President Jokowi. As the president is eyeing a
second term, having “his man” as KSAD will help strengthen his grip over the
military while he focuses on other presidential agendas.
*Chaula Anindya is a Research Analyst and Satrio Dwicahyo a Research Associate
with the Indonesia Programme, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
(RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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