Indonesia, West Papua – In recent months, Indonesia has witnessed an alarming resurgence of military influence in civilian affairs, raising serious concerns about democratic regression and the erosion of civilian supremacy. This trend, spearheaded by the administration of President Prabowo Subianto, reflects an orchestrated effort to reintroduce the dual-function doctrine of the armed forces (TNI), which the Reformasi Movement of 1998 sought to dismantle.
Appointment of human rights abuser to key civilian position
On 23 May 2025, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani appointed Lieutenant General Djaka Budi Utama as Director General of Customs and Excise, an institution critical to the integrity of state revenue collection. General Djaka, an active-duty TNI officer and former chief secretary of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), is widely reported to have been part of the notorious Tim Mawar, allegedly responsible for the enforced disappearances of student activists during 1997 1998. His appointment, bypassing legal restrictions outlined in the recently revised TNI Law, exemplifies the deliberate disregard for the rule of law and accountability.
Civil society organisations, including Imparsial and Transparency International Indonesia, have condemned the appointment as a violation of both good governance principles and existing legal frameworks. The 2025 amendment to the TNI Law sparked concerns about democracy and allowed active TNI personnel to take on 14 specified civilian roles. However, the Customs Director General is not one of them. The assurance by TNI spokespersons that Djaka will retire following his appointment does little to alleviate the legal breach and the ethical implications of his appointment.
Broader pattern of military entrenchment
Djaka's case is emblematic of a wider trend in Indonesia. As of February 2025, at least 4,472 active TNI personnel are embedded in 14 civilian institutions, including the Supreme Court, the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), the Attorney General's Office, and several state-owned enterprises. The argument that such appointments are based on specific competencies ignores the constitutional boundaries that delineate civilian and military domains.
The pattern includes the controversial deployment of soldiers to secure prosecutors offices nationwide, authorised by Presidential Regulation No. 66/2025 and a 2023 MoU between the TNI and the Attorney General's Office. Legal experts and rights groups, including the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform and the Indonesia Police Watch, argue that such deployments contravene the 1945 Constitution, the Law on the Judiciary, and the TNI Law itself. The role of national security and public order constitutionally falls within the purview of the civilian police, not the military.
Militarising governance and society
Recently, the militarisation has extended beyond high-level bureaucratic appointments. The proposal to send problematic students to military barracks in West Java for behavioural correction is a stark manifestation of the normalisation of military influence in civilian life. It is even more concerning that the proposal received support from the Minister for Human Rights, Natalius Pigai. Equally troubling is the Army's plan to recruit 24,000 new privates for territorial development battalions, a move that aims to position soldiers in agriculture, health, and education, which have exclusively been in civilian hands. These developments represent a systemic distortion of the post-reformasi vision of a professional, rights-respecting military restricted to defence functions. Government and TNI representatives argue that the military's involvement in civil domains is needed to accelerate development and improve public services.
Concentration of power and democratic decay
The Prabowo administration's actions indicate not only a preference for military-style governance but a consolidation of power through militarisation. Civil society experts point to a strategic centralisation of control over critical sectors such as customs, taxation, energy, logistics, and law enforcement. Appointments of military personnel to lead state-owned enterprises like PT Timah, PT Agrinas, and Perum Bulog signify a broader trend toward politicising the TNI and sidelining merit-based civilian governance.
This strategy appears to be driven by both ideological nostalgia and political calculation. Analysts argue that Prabowo, himself a former general dismissed for human rights abuses, seeks to secure his legacy within a single presidential term by embedding loyalists across key institutions. The weakening of checks and balances, especially through the co-optation of law enforcement agencies, threatens Indonesia's democratic institutions and risks setting dangerous precedents for future administrations.
Call to action
This critical juncture demands urgent responses from Indonesia's democratic forces, the Constitutional Court, and the international community. The judicial review of the revised TNI law filed by the Civil Society Coalition should be widely supported as a defence of constitutional order and human rights. Indonesia's civil society is under pressure to reaffirm its commitment to the separation of civil and military powers and uphold the post-1998 reformasi values. Failure to do so may result in the further progression of impunity, the erosion of democratic norms, and the militarisation of governance.