Indonesia: Five Unexpected Things Prabowo Did In His First Week As President

By Shailaja Neelakantan

When Prabowo Subianto was sworn in as president of Indonesia on Oct. 20, he was coming off of five years serving as defense minister – a performance that earned mixed reviews.

How would the former general fare as president, observers wondered, especially after he had unveiled a whopping cabinet of 109 ministers and deputy ministers, carving out two or three ministries from one to accommodate positions for alliance partners. 

But if anyone had expected a sedate start to the new Prabowo presidency, on account of new ministers in his large cabinet finding their feet, they were mistaken. 

During his first week in office, Prabowo and his ministers had a packed program and took actions that surprised observers, either in and of themselves or by their timing.

Here are five such things that happened during the opening week of the Prabowo presidency:

1 - Did an about-face in Indonesia seeking BRICS membership: Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, Prabowo’s predecessor, had been hesitant about the prospect of BRICS membership, saying last year he wanted to study and calculate the pros and cons, and that joining the bloc was not urgent. 

However, during his first official trip abroad, new Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono conveyed the opposite while attending a summit of the economic grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

“Indonesia joining BRICS is a manifestation of its independent-active foreign policy,” said Sugiono, who goes by one name, Reuters reported. “That does not mean we join a certain bloc, but we actively participate in every forum.”

Jokowi might have been wary that joining could be seen as Jakarta tilting towards Beijing, wrote Klaus Heinrich Raditio, at the Driyarkara School of Philosophy in Jakarta, in an analysis for The Lowy Institute. 

“But Prabowo does not carry that burden. ...[Indonesia's] main aim is primarily in seeking development opportunities, rather than endorsing Russia’s or China’s views on the world order,” said the analysis.

2 - Announced construction deadlines for new capital: Prabowo announced initiatives related to Nusantara (IKN), the proposed new capital on Borneo island, within seven days of being sworn in, a move that would have surprised many observers who didn't expect much new direction in the project, or certainly not so soon. Many had believed the new president was not interested in continuing with Jokowi’s pricey legacy project, because his own priority program to provide free school-lunches was wildly expensive (U.S. $53 million a day).

But Prabowo “emphasized that the IKN issue is actually very clear,” Forestry Minister Raja Juli Antoni said on X last week.

"It has been decided that [IKN] will be continued and completed. There is no need for any more questions about it actually," Raja wrote, referring to a speech Prabowo made to his cabinet at a retreat in Central Java.

“For him, the IKN is the ‘political capital.’ Therefore, in addition to the executive buildings (which are now almost finished), in the next four years the [Nusantara Capital City Authority] must complete buildings for the legislature and judiciary,” Raja wrote, citing Prabowo's directions.

3 - Retained previous government’s finance minister: Until around a week before he was sworn in, few believed Prabowo would name as Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, with whom he had several run-ins on the nature of his defense procurements, and other issues, when they were both in Jokowi's cabinet.

Mulyani’s reappointment, though, would reassure investors and markets, wrote editors of East Asia Forum, an online publication of the Australian National University, in an analysis of Prabowo’s cabinet. 

“With financial markets wary of Prabowo’s instincts towards government largesse, her presence in the cabinet will ensure strong oversight of public finances,” they added.

4-Signaled assertiveness on South China Sea to Beijing: The new Prabowo administration also quickly displayed some feistiness toward China during is first week. Indonesian ships chased away from Jakarta's exclusive economic zone in the North Natuna Sea a Chinese coast guard vessel on three occasions.

The Indonesian coast guard (Bakamla) said it was repelling the Chinese ship that was "disrupting” Jakarta's oil and gas survey activities. 

“Bakamla’s expulsion of the Chinese Coast Guard vessel from the North Natuna Sea’s continental shelf is a clear demonstration of our commitment to safeguarding our maritime domain,” the Indonesian coast guard said in a statement.

5 - Showcased his army roots with military-style retreat for cabinet: Prabowo, a former general in the Indonesian army’s special forces (Kopassus), raised eyebrows when he transported his entire cabinet to a retreat at a military academy.

The 104 men and five women in his cabinet donned camouflage uniforms and combat boots as they took part in drills intended to build team unity and discipline, participants said.

“I struggle a bit with waking up early since my usual routine involves going to bed at 2 a.m. and waking up at 5 a.m. for morning prayers, then catching some more sleep until 7. But here, that’s not possible,” Energy Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said.

“We go to bed at 2 a.m. and have to wake up at 4 a.m. It’s a good challenge because it forces us to maintain discipline, and we must be prepared to fulfill our duties, even if we only get 1-2 hours of sleep.”