July 15, 2024
JAKARTA – Prabowo Subianto’s team on Sunday scrambled to dispel concerns that the president-elect appeared to be critical of the government’s infrastructure drive in a recent fiery speech to young cadets justifying the importance of bolstering defense.
In a Saturday event attended by hundreds of Indonesian Military (TNI) and National Police cadets, Prabowo, the incumbent defense minister, emphasized the importance of a strong military and police presence for a nation’s survival.
“Why are we building structures, seaports, airports, high-speed railways, highways, reservoirs, if this country is not intact, not safe, not protected,” Prabowo said in his keynote speech.
“Your entry into the military and police is part of our national goal. We need a very strong army; we need a very strong police force. This is [crucial to] our survival as a nation,” Prabowo added.
Many have interpreted Prabowo’s statement as a jab against the heavy emphasis placed on infrastructure projects during President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration.
But Hasan Nasbi, a member of the so-called Prabowo synchronization team tasked with smoothing the transfer of power to the incoming president from outgoing President Jokowi, clarified that Prabowo was simply giving “directions rather than lamenting” the construction-heavy policies of his predecessor.
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“If other components [of the state] carry out the task of building infrastructure, developing the economy and educating the nation, then the TNI and police play a role in protecting the nation and maintaining security, including safeguarding development results,” Hasan told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
He suggested that any news reports about Prabowo’s Saturday speech that made it seem like the Gerindra patron was critical of the Jokowi administration were incorrect and said that to Prabowo, development and infrastructure projects are just as important as a strong military and police.
“Prabowo wanted to say that safety is important if we want to continue developing in the future. It also goes vice versa, all existing development results would not have given the maximum benefits if the security and integrity of the country were not continuously maintained,” Hasan added.
Read also: Questions raised about Jokowi, Prabowo postelection dynamics
Hasan insisted that Prabowo is committed to his goal of continuing many of the Jokowi administration’s policies once he is sworn into office in October.
“Prabowo has emphasized the importance of continuing the development, rather than diverting its direction,” Hasan said, adding that Prabowo’s past speeches had thanked past and current presidents because he was aware that “Indonesia’s current achievements are the result of their hard work and services”.
Prabowo has latched on to the continuity narrative since the campaign season of the February presidential election, with many observers chalking down his landslide win to him positioning himself as the successor to Jokowi, whose approval rating is still high despite having less than four months left in office.
Prabowo ran alongside his running mate vice president-elect Gibran Rakabuming Raka, Jokowi’s eldest son.