Arya Dipa, Bandung – The Indonesian Army is stepping up the development of top officers to prepare them to be future leaders, Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Toisutta said Friday.

In the latest development, he said, the Army had promoted Maj. Gen. Pramono Edhie Wibowo – the Siliwangi Military Commander overseeing security in West Java and Banten provinces – to lead the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad).

Pramono is the younger brother-in-law of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his recent appointment has been met with suspicion of cronyism, something the Army has fiercely denied.

Born in 1955, Pramono is the son of Sarwo Edhie Wibowo, one of the troops who helped bring in the New Order under Lt. Gen. Soeharto in 1965-1966. Soeharto was later sworn in as president and ruled the country with an iron fist for 32 years before being forced to step down in 1998.

Some observers believe Pramono's appointment was fast-tracked by Yudhoyono's Democratic Party to allow him to enter the presidential race in 2014, as Yudhoyono cannot seek a third term because of constitutional limits.

Despite handily winning the 2009 general elections, the Democratic Party has no strong candidates to field for the 2014 presidential race. "The promotion of officers groomed to be future leaders will be speeded up," Toisutta said.

The accelerated promotions will affect Academy alumni who graduated between 1976 and 1980. Toisutta said the number of senior officers from these years was a lot less than the graduating classes of 1973, 1974 and 1975. In Indonesian military politics, the year of graduation plays an important role in hierarchy and promotion.

"The number of senior officers from 1976 to 1980 is the same as from 1975. The regeneration should be speeded up to fill strategic posts," Toisutta said.

On Friday, Pramono handed over his post as Siliwangi Military Commander to Maj. Gen. Moeldoko, a 1981 Academy graduate. Moeldoko leaves his role as Tanjung Pura Military Commander overseeing security in South and West Kalimantan. Based in the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak, Tanjung Pura is a new military command officially inaugurated on June 1, 2010.

Toisutta played down criticism of the promotions, saying there was nothing suspicious about them. Army spokesman Brig. Gen. Suwarno Widjanarko said the number of senior officers who graduated from the Academy in 1975 was the same as the number of graduates between 1977 and 1980.

"There are only about 100 graduates from between 1977 and 1980. Currently, there are 300 cadets at the Academy. Unless regeneration is speeded up, there will be unfilled posts when officers from the graduating classes of 1975 and 1976 retire," he said.

Widjanarko added that accelerated regeneration within the Army had been planned for far into the future by past Army leaders. He also said regeneration would be implemented in all "strategic Army positions".