Alarm Bells in Indonesia Over Rising Military Role in Govt

Greater military influence in government, reporters under threat and a stuttering economy — Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto's first six months in power have triggered alarm bells for activists worried about a return to the nation's authoritarian roots.

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JAKARTA -

In March, Indonesia's Parliament amended a law allowing active-duty military personnel to work in 14 state institutions - up from 10 - including the attorney-general's office, which rights groups say could weaken legal checks on military abuse.

The decision has critics anxious that the world's third-largest democracy could hark back to the days of dictator Suharto, who ruled Indonesia with an iron fist for more than three decades.

"The government does not realise that Indonesia has a collective trauma over (Suharto's) authoritarian New Order government," said Mr Hussein Ahmad, deputy director of rights group Imparsial.

Before president Suharto was toppled by student-led protests in 1998, Mr Prabowo was serving as a commander for an elite force to suppress unrest.

He remains accused of human rights abuses, including allegations that he had ordered the abduction of activists at the end of Mr Suharto's rule - which Mr Prabowo has denied and never been charged.

He has since rehabilitated his image, and was elected in 2024 on the hopes that he would continue the policies of popular predecessor Joko Widodo.

Yet in the six months since coming into power, Mr Prabowo's former life as a general has been thrust into the public eye.

His administration's move to expand the military's role in government has raised eyebrows even within Indonesia's political elite.