When President Jokowi Added Controversy By Raising Prabowo Subianto's Rank

JAKARTA Less than a year away, Joko Widodo's term as seventh president of Indonesia has ended. However, at the end of his term of office, Jokowi is considered to have injured the public by giving the title of general of honor to Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto.

Wednesday (28/2/2024), Jokowi officially conferred Prabowo a special promotion to become an Honorary TNI General Retired at the TNI/Polri Leadership Meeting at GOR Ahmad Yani, TNI Headquarters, Cilangkap, East Jakarta.

Prabowo, who was originally a Lieutenant General (Ret.) or three-star, now has the rank of General (Hor) or four-star.

Spokesperson for the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, Dahlil Anzar, emphasized that the plan to grant the rank of general of honor was actually proposed by the TNI Headquarters to Jokowi on the basis of Prabowo's dedication and contribution in the military and defense sector.

Even so, this decision still invites controversy. The first reason is that Jokowi is considered not to respect the victims of the 1998 human rights violations, which until now are still struggling to seek justice. Second, in terms of ethics, Jokowi's decision is also questioned because the community is currently screaming following the scarcity and high price of rice.

Before Prabowo Subianto, there were already seven retired Army officers who first received the title of honorary general. Citing the Military Academy (Akmil) website, seven recipients of the rank of General TNI were Soesilo Soedarman, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Surjadi Sudirja, Agum Gumelar, Luhut B. Pandjaitan, Hari Sabarno, and Hendro Priyono.

The awarding of the title of honorary general given by Jokowi to Prabowo is regulated in Law Number 20 of 2009. Military observer from the Institute for Security and Strategic Studies (ISESS) Khairul Fahmi assesses that the awarding of rank to Prabowo is in accordance with the law. Fahmi emphasized that in the law there is a term of appointment or promotion of special rank, not an honor as mentioned by the mass media.

"Well, raising a special rank or appointing a special rank is the right that accompanies the provision of service stars by the state," said Fahmi, quoted from Tempo.

The rules for Prabowo's promotion to become an honorary general were also explained by the TNI General Agus Subiyanto. Agus said the honorary promotion was because Prabowo had received the honorary title of Bintang Yudha Dharma Utama in August 2022.

To note, Prabowo has held four signs of honor to the main military star, namely Bintang Yuda Dharma Utama, Bintang Kartika Eka Paksi Utama, Bintang Jalasena Utama, and Bintang Swa Buwana Paksa Utama.

A political observer from Al Azhar University Indonesia Andriadi Achmad said Jokowi's awarding of honorary title to Prabowo had nothing to do with politics, as some circles echoed. He considered Prabowo worthy of the title of honorary four-star general because he had provided many services for Indonesia.

"In my opinion, it is legal for Jokowi to give generals (respect) to Prabowo Subianto. Several honorary generals have been given to Sudirman, AH Nasution, and Suharto (General of Star honor 5). Then, during the time of Gus Dur and Megawati there were also many honorary Generals such as Agum Gumelar, Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, AM Hendropriyo, and SBY," said Andriadi when contacted by VOI.

"This means that 4 or 5 star generals (respect) are given to someone who has contributed to the nation and state. I think Jokowi's consideration is to honor General Prabowo because his services as Minister of Defense are currently serving as Commander General of Koppassus and Pangkostrad before the 1998 reforms," he added.

But on the one hand, the awarding of the title of honorary general to Prabowo Subianto is one of a series of controversies that have occurred entering the end of Jokowi's leadership.

Not only about Prabowo's track record in the past, which was suspected of committing human rights violations in the case of kidnapping activists in the pre-reform era in 1998, this promotion also made Jokowi considered insensitive to the people's situation.

In a written statement, the Executive Director of the Setara Institute, Halili Hasan, criticized Prabowo for giving the title of honorary four-star general. He considered this unethical because he ignored the people's difficulties amidst the high price of rice and other basic necessities.

In terms of publicity ethics, President Joko Widodo's move to provide an honorary star is also problematic. The president should think more about the fate of most people who are currently experiencing serious economic difficulties, due to rising rice prices and other basic food prices," Halili Hasan said in a press release at the Setara Institute.

He accused Jokowi's move to be full of political interests and urged Jokowi to cancel giving the military honorary star to Prabowo. Halili also mentioned that juridically, Prabowo's promotion was invalid.

Law Number 34 of 2024 concerning the Indonesian National Army does not recognize the honorary star as military rank. Stars as military rank only apply to high-ranking TNI officers who are active, not retired.

Likewise, referring to Law Number 20 of 2009 concerning Titles, Services, and Honorary Signs. The stars that Prabowo received should be a sign of honor, which according to Article 7 Paragraph 3 of the Law are the Stars of Guerrilla, Stars of the Sakti, Stars of Dharma, Stars of Yudha Dharma, Kartika Eka Paksi Stars, Jalasena Stars, and Swa Bhuwana Paksa Stars, not stars as high-ranking military officers for retired officers.

Halili Hasan considers this decision to make it clearer that Jokowi displays political and government actions that are not only against the law and ignore human rights, but also against the flow of public aspirations.