By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s defence ministry put out a full-page advertisement in the country’s largest newspaper on Monday, detailing and defending key non-defence programmes being run by the military, amid criticism of the force’s increased role under President Prabowo Subianto.
Since being elected as president last year, Prabowo has expanded the number of government posts for military personnel and tapped the force to deliver on his programme. That has sparked worries among students and activists that the world’s third largest democracy could go back to the military-dominated New Order era of authoritarian leader Suharto.
Titled “No Longer Just Military: Indonesian-style People’s Defense,” the advertisement, published in Kompas newspaper, says the defence ministry’s policies have expanded and transformed “into people’s defence based on prosperity and cross-sector collaboration.”
Prabowo has deployed military for various kinds of tasks, from implementing the free school lunches, manufacturing medicines, delivering on agriculture projects, and seizing palm oil plantations.
The advertisement said the government urged national resilience through the defence ministry’s involvement, mentioning 10 programmes, including free meals, the establishment of 100 new army battalions in the health and agriculture sectors, as well as military labs to manufacture medicine.
The advertisement said the defence ministry had trained and equipped thousands of young graduates with “military approaches” and public nutrition in kitchens across the country. These graduates have become the kitchens’ head or nutritionists.
The ministry also said the army battalions are expected to reach 500 in five years and it aimed to “safeguard the government strategic programmes”.
Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow at Singapore-based think-tank ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, called the policies the “securitisation” of civilian sectors.
“They are just trying to sell it to the public (through the advertisement) – but whether the public will be OK or not, is not relevant because they are already doing it anyway,” he told Reuters.
The defence ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters’s request for comment on the reason for the advertisement.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gibran Peshimam and Lincoln Feast.)
