Ina Parlina and Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – New Army chief Lt. Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo has pledged to strengthen the management of his force and to maintain its neutrality, in particular during the transition of power from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to president-elect Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
"We're optimistic that everything will run peacefully and orderly, since those are the basic foundations of future development," Gatot said after being sworn in by Yudhoyono at the State Palace.
The neutrality of the Army has been in question following rumors of the alleged partiality of Gatot's predecessor, Gen. Budiman, in the runup to the July 9 presidential election.
The suspicions arose after Yudhoyono lashed out at military and police generals who were engaged in talks with political parties that solicited their support for one or other of the presidential tickets in the election.
Both the palace and Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Gen. Moeldoko have denied the allegations, noting that the rotation of the Army's leadership was needed as Budiman was due to retire in the next three months.
Gatot, who previously served as Army's Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) chief, said that he would improve the Army's performance by using the existing programs laid out by Budiman.
"Pak Budiman set out the programs during his half-year leadership. I will continue them, but with evaluations and necessary adjustments based on conditions," he said.
During the handover ceremony at Army headquarters later in the day, Moeldoko instructed Gatot to pay attention to the development of Army personnel.
"I believe that Lt. Gen. Gatot, with his leadership ability and knowledge, will be able to improve the quality of the Army's personnel and staff," he said.
After the ceremony, Budiman said that in his last days of service, he would provide assistance to Gatot. Budiman seemed reluctant to answer reporters' questions about his absence from Gatot's inauguration ceremony at the palace. "There is no problem," he responded.
The program director of human rights watchdog Imparsial, Al Araf, hoped that Gatot would fully obey the next president and make the Army more transparent and open to public suggestions.
"Although he was appointed by Yudhoyono, the Army chief must submit to the supremacy of the next government, which will be led by a civilian president," he said in a telephone interview.
"The Army chief should listen to the people's suggestions, in particular on the issues of ongoing reform within the Indonesian Army and of military tribunals. So far, the implementation of military-tribunal reform, in particular, has been stymied by the Army's resistance," Al Araf said.
Analyst from the Indonesian Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies (LESPERSSI), Rizal Dharma Putra, suggested Gatot should pay attention to modernizing the Army's defense systems.
"The Army chief also needs to strengthen the army's units, especially the airborne battalion so they can immediately reach areas that are hit by disasters or controlled by separatists," Rizal said.