Jakarta: Prabowo Subianto was sworn in Sunday as the eighth president of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation, completing his journey from a former general accused of human rights abuses during the dark days of Indonesia’s military dictatorship to the presidential palace.
The former defense minister, who turned 73 on Thursday, was cheered in the streets by thousands of waving supporters after taking the oath on the Koran in front of lawmakers and foreign dignitaries. Banners and billboards filled the streets of the capital, Jakarta, where tens of thousands gathered for the festivities.
Dressed in traditional blue Betawi cloth and a dark baseball cap, Subianto stood on the sunroof of a white van and waved, occasionally shaking people’s hands, as his motorcade struggled to pass through thousands of supporters shouting their name and chanted “Good luck, Prabowo.” -Gibran”, filling the street that goes from the parliament building to the presidential palace.
“I see in him a firm and patriotic figure,” said Atalaric Eka Prayoga, 25. “He is a figure we need to lead Indonesia.” Another resident, Silky Putri, said he hopes Subianto “can make Indonesia more advanced and improve the current gloomy economic situation.”
Subianto was a long-time rival of the immensely popular President Joko Widodo, who ran for president twice and refused to accept defeat both times, in 2014 and 2019.
But Widodo appointed Subianto defense chief upon his re-election, paving the way for an alliance despite their rival political parties. During the campaign, Subianto ran as heir to the popular outgoing president and promised to continue signature policies such as the construction of a new multibillion-dollar capital and limits on the export of raw materials intended to boost the national industry.
Backed by Widodo, Subianto won a landslide victory in February’s direct presidential election with promises of political continuity.
Subianto was sworn in alongside his new vice president, former Surakarta mayor Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37. He chose Widodo’s son Raka as his running mate, and Widodo favored Subianto over his former party’s candidate. Former rivals became tacit allies, although Indonesian presidents do not typically endorse candidates.
But how he will govern Southeast Asia’s largest economy – where nearly 90% of Indonesia’s 282 million people are Muslim – remains uncertain after a campaign in which he made few concrete promises other than continuity with the popular former president.
After decades of dictatorship under President Suharto, Indonesia was convulsed by political, ethnic and religious unrest in the late 1990s and early 2000s. It has since consolidated its democratic transition as the world’s third largest democracy. and is home to a rapidly expanding middle class.
Subianto, who comes from one of the country’s richest families, stands in stark contrast to Widodo, the first Indonesian president to emerge outside the political and military elite.
Subianto was a special forces commander until he was expelled by the army in 1998 over accusations of involvement in kidnappings and torture of activists and other abuses. He was never tried and went into self-imposed exile in Jordan in 1998, although several of his subordinates were tried and convicted.
Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein was expected to attend Sunday’s ceremony, but canceled it at the last minute due to escalating tensions in the Middle East and decided to send Foreign Minister Nancy Namrouqa as his special envoy Subianto and Abdullah met in person in June for talks in Amman on humanitarian assistance to people affected by the war in Gaza.
Subianto, who has never held elected office, will lead a huge, diverse archipelago nation whose economy has boomed amid strong global demand for its natural resources. But it will have to deal with global economic difficulties and regional tensions in Asia, where territorial conflicts and rivalry between the United States and China loom large.
Leaders and senior officials from more than 30 countries flew to attend the ceremony, including Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and leaders from Southeast Asian countries. president of the united states joe biden sent Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the United Nations. Admiral Samuel Paparo, US commander of the Indo-Pacific Command, was also among the US delegation.
Analysts and media consider Subianto a leader with greater international projection than Widodo. He has already held dozens of meetings with dozens of foreign officials, said Adhi Priamarizki, a researcher at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore.
He said defense development was at the top of his list of priorities. Subianto has advocated an expansion of the military through the purchase of submarines, frigates and fighter planes and wants to initiate greater defense cooperation with several countries, Priamarizki said.
The election result capped a long comeback for Subianto, who for years was banned from traveling to the United States and Australia.
He has vowed to continue Widodo’s modernization efforts, which have boosted Indonesia’s economic growth by building infrastructure and harnessing the country’s abundant resources. A signed policy required nickel, a major Indonesian export and a key component of electric car batteries, to be processed in local factories rather than exported raw.
He has also promised to push forward Widodo’s most ambitious and controversial project: building a new capital in Borneo, about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from congested Jakarta.
Subianto, an enthusiastic speaker, lashed out at widespread corruption in his inauguration speech, saying many people cannot get jobs, children are malnourished and their schools are not well maintained.
“Too many of our brothers and sisters are below the poverty line, many of our children go to school without breakfast and do not have clothes to go to school,” Subianto said.
Ahead of the February presidential election, he also promised to provide free school lunches and milk to 83 million students in more than 400,000 schools across the country. It is expected to cost 71 trillion rupees ($4.5 billion) in its first year and aims to reduce malnutrition and stunting among children.
“We must dare to see all this and we must dare to solve all these problems,” Subianto said Sunday.
He also promised to continue a non-aligned foreign policy and be a good neighbor.
“We will oppose all colonialism and defend the interests of oppressed peoples around the world,” Subianto said.
Subianto had at least seven interactions with U.S. officials, the most among foreign officials he had met in the post-election period, and six with Chinese officials, Priamarizki said.
“It can be read as an initial signal that Prabowo intends to take a more balanced approach towards the two countries,” he said.
Subianto’s “good neighbor foreign policy” also indicates his intention to establish stronger ties with Southeast Asian countries.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Republic and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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