Members Of The House Of Representatives Consider It OK To Have The Kostrad Commander Seat Still Vacant

TNI Commander General Andika Perkasa/PHOTO VIA ANTARA

JAKARTA - The seat of the Kostrad Commander is still vacant after General TNI Dudung Abdurachman was sworn in as Army Chief of Staff (KSAD).

Member of Commission I DPR Golkar Faction, Bobby Rizaldi, said there was no problem with the vacancy. According to him, organizationally there are no problems because Kostrad can operate at any time according to the duties of the TNI Commander.

Therefore, according to Bobby, it does not depend on the presence or absence of the Kostrad Commander. Bobby then talked about the transition that occurred during the transition from Mulyono to Edy Rahmayadi in 2015.

"In the past, the transition from Mr. Erwin Sujono to Mr. G Toisutta had a gap of 1 day from 12 to 13 November 2007. Or, Mr. Mulyono to Mr. Edy Rahmayadi, there was a 10 day gap from July 15 to July 25 2015. So there was nothing extraordinary. ," Bobby told reporters, Tuesday, December 21.

Bobby also believes that the TNI Commander General Andika Perkasa is in the process of filling in for Dudung's replacement as Pangkostrad. The Golkar politician hopes that all parties will patiently wait for the ongoing process.

"As stated by the TNI Commander, the internal screening process at Wanjakti is already underway, just waiting for the results to be submitted to the President by the TNI Commander," said Bobby.

Previously, Major General Agus Subiyanto was predicted to be a strong candidate for Pangkostrad to replace General TNI Dudung Abdurachman after being officially inaugurated by President Joko Widodo as Army Chief of Staff (KSAD), last Wednesday 17 November.

Major General Agus Subiyanto's close relationship with President Joko Widodo did not rule out the possibility of making him the strongest candidate for Pangkostrad.

Meanwhile, General Dudung Abdurachman admitted to immediately reporting the new Pangkostrad to the TNI Commander and President Jokowi.

"Later we will report it to the TNI Commander and later it will be reported to the President," said Dudung.

The following is a brief profile of the 4 strong candidates for Pangkostrad:

1. Major General Maruli Simanjuntak

Maruli graduated from the Military Academy in 1992. He is the son-in-law of the Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs and Investment Luhut Binsar Panjaitan.

He is also experienced in the Kopassus infantry and the Cakra Combat Detachment. He was a presidential guard, this two-star general was a former Commander of the Presidential Security Forces in 2018-2020. Now he is the Commander of the Udayana Regional Military Command.

2. Major General Agus Subiyanto

Agus graduated from the Military Academy in 1992. He has experience in the Kopassus Infantry.

The man who was born in Pangandaran also briefly served as Danpaspampres in 2020. Then he currently serves as the Commander of the Siliwangi Regional Military Command.

3. Major General I Nyoman Cantiasa

Cantiasa is the best graduate (Adhi Makayasa) in 1990. He has experience in the Kopassus Infantry.

He has been poor across Kopassus. In fact, he also served as Dansat 81/Kopassus in 2010 and Danjen Kopassus in 2019. Now he is the Commander of the Kasuari Military Command.

4. Major General Teguh Pudjo Rumekso

Teguh, is the best graduate (Adhi Makayasa) Akmil in 1991. He comes from the Infantry unit.

While holding the rank of Brigadier General of the TNI, he was elected as the ceremonial commander in the flag-raising ceremony at the Merdeka Palace on August 17, 2014.

The rank of two-star general when he was Commander of Puspenerbad. Now he is the Commander of the Mulawarman Regional Military Command.