Sjafrie Sjamsuddin on 2029 Presidential Radar, Academics Urge Focus on Defense Mandate

Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Professor of the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia Heru Susetyo reminded the Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin that strengthening the defense sector must remain within the framework of a democratic state that places civilian control as the main principle.

According to Heru, national security design should not be interpreted only as strengthening the military institution alone. He emphasized that a strong defense system must continue to place civil society as the main pillar of democracy.

"A strong national defense is not only about strengthening the TNI or security forces, but also ensuring that civil society remains a key pillar in the democratic system," he said in a public discussion held by the Indonesia Youth Congress in Jakarta, Wednesday, March 11.

During the forum, a number of academics and researchers also assessed that the Ministry of Defense needed to maintain its focus on the main mandate of managing the country's defense, especially in the midst of an increasingly unstable global geopolitical situation.

International relations expert Connie Rahakundini Bakrie assessed that global geopolitical dynamics indeed encouraged many countries to increase their defense capacity. However, according to him, national security strategies must still be formulated in a measured manner and oriented towards long-term national interests.

He assessed that the defense ministry should focus on consolidating military strength, developing the defense industry, and formulating strategies to deal with increasingly complex global geopolitical tensions.

Meanwhile, lecturer in international relations at the National University of Jakarta, Robi Nurhadi, said that current security challenges are not only related to military aspects, but are also influenced by changes in the global political constellation and the rivalry of major powers.

Therefore, according to him, defense policy must be directed at strengthening the strategic capacity of the country and not spread to various other policy sectors that have the potential to obscure the main priorities of national defense.

On the other hand, public policy and good governance researcher Gian Kasogi assessed that recently there has been a perception in the public space that the Minister of Defense is often involved in various agendas that are not always directly related to the defense sector.

He also highlighted Sjafrie's increasing political exposure, which was considered to have made his name start to enter the radar of national political contests. Based on a survey by the Indonesian Public Institute (IPI), Sjafrie was listed in the top 10 potential presidential candidates in the 2029 presidential election with an electability rate of around 7.5 percent.

In the survey, Sjafrie's position is not far from a number of regional heads such as West Java Governor Dedi Mulyadi and Jakarta Governor Pramono Anung, as well as competing with other national figures such as Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo.

Gian reminded the Ministry of Defense to continue to work within the mandate corridor given by President Prabowo Subianto.

"The Minister of Defense should focus on handling national security and defense issues. When his movement space goes too far into the political, economic or business area, then public questions arise about the limits of the role and design of power in government," said Gian.

The discussion also highlighted the importance of maintaining a balance between strengthening the security sector, civil supremacy, and democratic governance in the face of increasingly heated global geopolitical dynamics.