Tiarma Siboro and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, Jakarta – As widely expected, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has nominated Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto to lead the Indonesian Military (TNI), an appointment that is expected to prevent dissent among the armed forces.
House of Representatives Speaker Agung Laksono told the media Monday that the President had submitted a letter informing the House of his nomination of the Air Force chief to replace TNI Commander Gen. Endriartono Sutarto.
"The letter was submitted last night. The President nominates Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto for the sole candidate of the Indonesian Military Chief," he said after the opening of the 14th Asia Pacific Parliament Forum (APPF).
The House will announce the notification in a plenary meeting Tuesday, the first stage of confirmation hearings, Agung added.
"I consider my nomination as a mandate from the President and I will do my best to fulfill my duties," Djoko told The Jakarta Post by phone after returning from the haj pilgrimage.
Djoko is likely to be approved by the House because he enjoys solid support among legislators, with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-Perjuangan) the only holdout.
"We have a different candidate from the President, but differences are common. Whether we accept or reject it (the nomination), we don't consider that PDI Perjuangan is trying to politicize the military," PDI-P legislator Tjahjo Kumolo said.
Then president Megawati Soekarnoputri had sent a letter proposing Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu, the former army chief of staff who is set to retire in April, to replace Sutarto during the general election campaign in 2004. The House did not respond to her request.
Legislator Yuddy Chrisnandi of the ruling Golkar Party said his party's executive board supported Suyanto.
"It is House Commission I which holds the last say, not Golkar. By appointing the air force chief instead of the army chief as the candidate, it is clear that SBY has an agenda to reform the military," he said.
Yuddy said he believed Suyanto's nomination was "... only a bridge to install army chief of staff (Djoko Santoso) during the last years of the President's government".
Many also believe the President nominated Suyanto to prevent conflict within the army, which offered Ryamizard and the younger Djoko as candidates for the military's top position. The President's decision was supported by Vice President Jusuf Kalla.
Military analyst Indria Samego said the President's move was a sign that Susilo was serious in wanting to reform the military because he did not pick another candidate from the army, which is seen by many as the arm of the military that most interferes in civilian affairs.
"In appointing someone from the air force, Yudhoyono is pushing the military in a more professional direction," he said.
Suyanto, 55, graduated from the military academy in 1973, the same year as Susilo, who was an army general.
His successor is likely to be Rear Marshall M. Basri Sidehabi, the commander of the TNI Staff and Command School. The Makassar-born Basri is supported by Kalla, who hails from the same area.