Indonesia is poised to approve controversial changes to its military law this week, permitting more armed forces personnel to take on civilian roles—a decision raising concerns in a nation with a history of military dominance.
The changes were approved on Tuesday by the house committee overseeing military, defence and foreign policy and according to lawmakers will be put to a wider vote on Thursday of parliament, which is controlled by President Prabowo Subianto’s coalition.
Democracy groups have derided the proposed amendments, saying they could herald the return of Indonesia’s 1967-1998 “New Order” era of the late strongman President Suharto, who stacked his governments with generals and routinely crushed dissent.
Prabowo, a former defence minister and special forces commander who served under Suharto and was once his son-in-law, has expanded the armed forces’ role since taking power in October after winning the presidential election by a big margin.
The bill includes a change introduced into a later draft requiring military officers to resign before assuming civilian roles, said Gavriel Putra Novanto who presided over the committee’s meeting.
Current laws allow active soldiers to hold posts in organisations such as the defence ministry and state intelligence agency.
The new draft adds more state agencies to the list, including the attorney general’s office, the state secretariat, the counter-terrorism agency and the narcotics agency, Gavriel said. It also extends sitting officers’ retirement age.
The latest draft of the bill has not been made available to the public. Prabowo’s office has denied it could usher in a second “New Order” era.
Law Minister Supratman Andi Agtas said the revision was necessary due to current domestic and geopolitical challenges.
Rights groups have also complained the deliberations on the bill were rushed. On Saturday, some activists went to a Jakarta hotel to protest the bill while it was being discussed by lawmakers, accusing them of ignoring and failing to seek public input.
Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, parliament’s deputy speaker, denied the bill was being rushed through and said lawmakers had been transparent.
(With inputs from Reuters)
