The president is the supreme commander of the Indonesian armed forces. The 1945 Constitution – both in its amended and original forms – clearly stipulates such. Even top military brass would not argue with the president's official distinction as commander in chief. But the current degree of actual control the president has over this most strategic of state institutions is ambiguous.

Past Indonesian leaders, from Sukarno to Megawati Soekarnoputri, under the prevailing political system of the time, from parliamentary democracy, authoritarianism to direct presidential elections, have had to come to terms with the military in their own way.

Either by prostration or compromise, no president has survived without the "blessing" of the military. It was not public opinion, but rather the military that has determined the political turning points of the nation.

Even during the initial phases of the current era of democratic resurgence, the military was a defining actor in the fate of post-Soeharto administrations. Either by conscious omission or as a sustaining ally, its role was crucial in terminating and perpetuating at least two administrations.

As the nation attempts to nudge its institutions toward egalitarian and accountable norms, it has to be said that the Indonesian Military (TNI) has consistently maintained its exclusiveness. As other state institutions succumb, in varying degrees, to demands for reform, the TNI has continued to jealously guard against external initiatives to transform its institutionalized habits.

After seven years of reformasi, changes within the TNI have only begun to scratch the surface. It is true that the TNI has not prevented the progress of democratic reform. But neither has it been at the forefront in implementing reform.

Hence, suspicion remains of the TNI's true intentions. This suspicion also indicates that despite the democratic elections, there is doubt that the defined commander in chief (the president) has absolute command and control over the TNI.

The election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono brought about an intriguing paradox: the nation is now looking to a retired military general to "impose" important reforms on the TNI.

One question that has yet to be answered in Susilo's 100-plus days in power is how he perceives and intends to pursue the relationship with the institution that taught him everything he knows. Will he seek to make the military a bedfellow, like his predecessor? Or will he seek to "tame the beast", as Abdurrahman Wahid unsuccessfully attempted? One advantage Susilo has over his two predecessors is that being directly elected, he has more legitimacy and a stronger mandate than any leader since the first president, Sukarno.

The impending appointment of the new TNI chief is an important gauge of how Susilo will pursue the relationship with the institution. While TNI Headquarters will submit a list of preferred candidates to replace the departing Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, the President, as the commander in chief, has the right to appoint whoever he feels comfortable with and sees fit to serve as TNI chief.

The President should seriously consider returning to the tradition of rotating the position of TNI chief between the Army, Navy and Air Force. With the last two TNI chiefs being from the Navy and the Army, the appointment of a Navy man as TNI chief would be a logical option. Such a bold decision would help address imbalances within the military resulting from the Army's domination of influence, and potentially tip the political balance in the TNI in the President's favor.

The House of Representatives also has a key role to play in consenting to the President's choice of TNI chief. It is an opportunity for the House to show it is a truly independent body.

We have no specific preference as to who should become the next TNI chief. The four leading candidates, however, have not shown much enthusiasm for our desired goal of civilian supremacy and public accountability over the TNI.

Gen. Ryamizard Riyacudu, Lt. Gen. Djoko Santoso, Air Marshall Djoko Suyanto and Adm. Slamet Soebijanto remain to varying degrees trapped in the conservative mind-set that persists in setting the TNI apart from other public institutions because of its perceived role as the guardian of the state.

We can only suggest that the best candidate is not one whose chest glitters with medals, but rather a soldier whose loyalty resides with the elected president and the nation, and not the institution of the TNI.

The future of our democracy rests in the depth and sincerity of the social, political and economic reforms we are now undertaking. The potency of these reforms depends on the degree to which the TNI is willing to cede to civilian supremacy.