Appointed As Father Of Navy Infrastructure, Observers Say Yudo Margono Deserves To Be The Commander Of The Indonesian Armed Forces

Chief of Naval Staff (KSAL) Admiral Yudo Margono (doc Dispenal)

JAKARTA - Chief of Naval Staff (KSAL) Admiral TNI Yudo Margono, was appointed by President Joko Widodo as the sole candidate for TNI Commander to replace General Andika Perkasa who is entering retirement age in December 2022.

Yudo will carry out the appointment mechanism as TNI commander through a fit and proper test at the DPR after the President's letter was received by DPR Speaker Puan Maharani yesterday.

Septiawan, a military and defense observer from the Indonesia Defense Strategy Forum (IDFS), believes that Yudo Margono is worthy of replacing Andika Perkasa as TNI commander.

"Mr. Yudo deserves to be the commander of the TNI," said Iwan in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 29.

According to him, the welfare of soldiers is the key to forming a professional TNI posture in carrying out its main duties in protecting the sovereignty of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI).

Iwan said Yudo had succeeded in improving the welfare of Indonesian Navy soldiers. During his leadership period, said Iwan, Yudo had a good effect on the development of human resources for TNI AL soldiers so that they were of higher quality.

"With the achievements in the construction of more than hundreds of main and supporting infrastructure for the Indonesian Navy during his leadership, it would not be wrong if we pinned the title Father of Infrastructure of the Indonesian Navy," he said.

"Yudo clearly identified that the main foundation for building the TNI AL's strength lies in infrastructure and has quickly translated it into the roadmap since being assigned in May 2020," continued Iwan.

Apart from that, added Iwan, Yudo also succeeded in bringing about bureaucratic changes in the Indonesian Navy by creating "right-sizing" of the organization. Because of that, Yudo is expected to improve the quality of the TNI under his leadership.

"The great hope rests on sustainability after this, namely improving the posture and defense equipment of the TNI which is of a higher quality for the maritime glory of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia," said Iwan.