Indonesia’s Subianto appoints new security minister after deadly protests

Ex-rival and former General Djamari Chaniago selected after protests about the economy left 10 dead last month.

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has appointed a former rival as the new security minister after last month’s deadly protests.

On Wednesday, Subianto, a former general, named retired general Djamari Chaniago as coordinating minister for politics and security, replacing Budi Gunawan, whom he removed from the cabinet earlier this month.

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Subianto dismissed Gunawan after violent demonstrations swept across the Southeast Asian nation in late August, leaving 10 people dead.

Anger over the faltering economy erupted into full-blown violence following reports that politicians received a $3,000 housing allowance on top of their salaries – a perk equal to between 10 and 20 times Indonesia’s monthly minimum wage, depending on the region.

The unrest spread when a motorcycle delivery driver, 21-year-old Affan Kurniawan, was struck and killed by a police vehicle during protests in the capital Jakarta.

Five ministers lost their jobs, including Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, a technocrat who had served as the executive director of the International Monetary Fund and managing director of the World Bank.

Subianto’s decision to install Chaniago as senior security minister signals the start of his bid to reconsolidate power by replacing underperforming ministers in key positions.

He has appointed former generals to key posts and deployed the military for various tasks, including handling street protests, implementing free school meals and food security initiatives, manufacturing medicines and seizing palm oil plantations for a new state-owned firm.

History of rivalry

Chaniago was one of seven generals who were members of the Officers Council of Honor, which was set up in 1998 amid an investigation into the kidnapping of activists opposed to then-President Soeharto during the final days of his rule.

Subianto was a general at the time, and the council’s investigation found him guilty of “misinterpreting the orders” of his superiors. He was discharged in 1998, after soldiers from his elite force, Kopassus, were deemed to have kidnapped and tortured political opponents of Soeharto.

Of 22 activists kidnapped that year, 13 remain missing. Several of his men were tried and convicted, but the Indonesian president never faced trial.

Subianto never commented on the accusations, and he went into self-imposed exile in Jordan in 1998.

Chaniago replaced Subianto as commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command in May 1998 during an extremely tense political moment after the fall of Soeharto.