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Amy Sood

Nationwide protests have erupted across Indonesia in response to parliament’s approval of a revised military law that broadens the armed forces’ role in civilian institutions, with students and rights groups warning of democratic backsliding.
The revision’s swift passage has been widely viewed as a sign of President Prabowo Subianto’s political dominance, with critics saying it reflects his intent to reassert the military’s role in civilian life and roll back reforms that once separated defence from governance.
Protesters took to the streets in cities across Indonesia – from Jakarta to Aceh and South Kalimantan – after parliament, dominated by Prabowo’s ruling coalition, passed the contentious amendment on Thursday.
In Jakarta, police fired tear gas and water cannons as thousands of protesters attempted to storm the parliament building on Friday.
The situation continued to escalate on Monday, with clashes breaking out between demonstrators and police in front of a government building in Surabaya, East Java. Around 1,000 students and activists had been protesting the amended bill, holding signs that read: “Reject the Military Law” and “The Military Should Return to the Barracks,” according to an Agence France-Presse report.

Parliament fast-tracked the amendment of the 2004 law governing the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). The move was driven by aides close to Prabowo, who is a retired army general and the country’s former defence minister.
Many Indonesian rights activists fear the revision could revive dwifungsi, or dual function – a doctrine from former strongman president Suharto’s 32-year “New Order” era that allowed the military to dominate both defence and civilian governance.
“Dwifungsi revives a bad memory of the authoritarian period under president Suharto in which the military acted as the regime’s backbone and tool to repress opposition voices,” said Adhi Priamarizki, a research fellow with the Indonesia programme at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.
A collective of Indonesian rights groups, the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform, said in a statement that the revisions could “blur the boundaries between the military and civilian spheres” and risks “restoring dwifungsi and militarism in Indonesia”.
Prabowo served as a commander in Kopassus, the Indonesian special forces, during Suharto’s regime, which ended in 1998. He was discharged from the military that year following accusations of involvement in the abduction and torture of political activists – allegations he has consistently denied.
Since assuming the presidency in October, Prabowo has been expanding the armed forces’ role into traditionally civilian areas, including his food estate programmes and flagship free meal scheme to children and expecting mothers nationwide.
He has also appointed a number of active and former members of the military to his “Red and White” cabinet, including Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin and Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya.
Undoing reforms
Experts said the 2004 military law did need improvement – particularly in areas like training resources and standardising military equipment – but the revised legislation failed to address those issues.
Instead, the law focuses on expanding the military’s role in civilian positions within the country’s state agencies, allowing military personnel to be appointed without having to retire from service.
Military officers can now hold positions in at least five more government institutions, up from the previous 10, which were primarily security-related. They are the Attorney General’s Office, National Disaster Mitigation Agency, National Counterterrorism Agency, Indonesian Maritime Security Agency, and National Agency for Border Management.


Additionally, the revised law eliminates the requirement for political approval for the military to conduct operations beyond warfare.
In response to criticism, TNI chief Agus Subiyanto dismissed concerns of a dwifungsi revival, saying any active military officers who took up posts in ministries or state bodies “should retire early or resign from active duty”.
But according to Arya Fernandes, head of department of politics and social change at Centre for Strategic and International Studies Indonesia, the new law already stands to undo years of bureaucratic reform.
“For many years, the civilian bureaucracy has tried to reform itself by focusing on merit-based competencies and open-selections for high-level government positions,” he said. But the revised law risked military officers “taking up these positions without the same internal assessment or being held to the same standards”.
Yoes Kenawas, a postdoctoral research fellow of political science at Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta, added that the revision also threatened to reverse reforms to how the military has historically operated in the country.
“Indonesia had a very bad experience with the TNI’s involvement in the civic space, and all the efforts to reform the military since the collapse of the New Order were directed to make the TNI professional soldiers,” he said.
“Now, maybe because the president has a military background and a stronger trust towards the military … it is very concerning for us to see the military return to civic space, to be involved in civilian matters.”
‘Problematic’ process
Analysts say the speed at which this law was passed as well as the lack of transparency were major matters of concern. An official draft of the bill is still not accessible on the House of Representatives’ website.
“The process has been quite problematic because there are no clear stages of discussion to pass the revisions,” Arya said.
The revisions were ratified during a plenary session on Thursday and faced no opposition from the eight parties represented in parliament. Since coming to power, Prabowo has secured a supermajority in the House of Representatives, with seven of the eight major parties joining his coalition.
Notably, the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle – the only de facto opposition party in the legislature – also refrained from criticising the amendments.

Though analysts say the legislative process is a show of Prabowo’s influence, the leader appears to want to absolve himself of criticism.
Officials from Prabowo’s cabinet said last week that neither the president nor the executive branch of the government were involved in the proposal to amend the law, and that it was initiated by lawmakers in parliament.
“This is not about whether or not President Prabowo asked for [the amendment]. This was an initiative from House lawmakers from the previous term,” said Law and Human Rights Minister Supratman Andi Agtas.
Parliament Vice Speaker Sufmi Dasco, a long-time member of Prabowo’s Gerindra party, had led the legislative talks. Prabowo’s hand-picked defence minister Sjafrie was also reported to be involved closely in revisions to the bill.
Both were close to Prabowo and played a crucial role in supporting his government and advancing his national agenda, Adhi noted.
Yoes said it was “silly” to suggest that Prabowo was not involved. “If there was no order from the president, they would not have expedited this process,” he said.
Despite the protests against the passing of the law, and prior protests to Prabowo’s economic policies in previous months, analyst Kevin O’Rourke said the president was likely to pursue more legal changes, which could include revisions to electoral laws or amendments to the constitution.
“Although the president clearly bristles when protests impugn his decision-making, he remains undeterred: there are few indications that demonstrations prompt any reconsideration of a desired course of action,” O’Rourke wrote in last Friday’s edition of Reformasi Weekly, a newsletter about policy and politics in Indonesia.


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The amended bill brought back bad memories of Suharto-era militarism, when lines between civilian and military spheres were blurred, critics said


The amended bill brought back bad memories of Suharto-era militarism, when lines between civilian and military spheres were blurred, critics said.


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Indonesia military law protests signal deep fears of democratic erosion under Prabowo

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The amended bill brought back bad memories of Suharto-era militarism, when lines between civilian and military spheres were blurred, critics said

The amended bill brought back bad memories of Suharto-era militarism, when lines between civilian and military spheres were blurred, critics said