(Bloomberg) -- Indonesian President Joko Widodo, already facing public anger over a string of controversial policies, drafted Prabowo Subianto into his cabinet as he looks to his long-term rival to now be a bulwark against a further backlash over his second-term agenda.
Prabowo, who up until a few months ago was locked in a tense battle for the presidency with Jokowi, as Widodo is known, was appointed defense minister Wednesday. Bringing Prabowo into the cabinet as the leader of Gerindra -- the third biggest party in the Indonesian parliament -- offers Jokowi a path to push through reforms he sees as crucial to bolstering an economy growing at its slowest pace in two years.
With a presidential campaign was supported by hardline Islamic groups, Prabowo has speculated about Indonesia coming under attack from unnamed external forces and railed against China.
“Having the opposition firebrand as an integral part of the cabinet will produce no end of awkwardness,” said Kevin O’Rourke, who wrote a book on Indonesian politics after Suharto and publishes the Reformasi Weekly newsletter. “Prabowo was particularly antagonistic towards China throughout the campaign,” O’Rourke said, which puts him at odds with the government which has been forging closer links with its biggest trading partner.
‘Maverick’ Reputation
Prabowo was sworn in Wednesday with several other former generals from the Suharto era as well as scions of families that prospered under the dictator that ruled Indonesia for 32 years. The ex-special forces commander has worked hard to re-shape his image, cultivating a reputation as being in touch on bread and butter issues despite conceding he is also part of the elite.
Still, he is often seen as a divisive figure. In an interview with Bloomberg in April, just days out from the presidential election, Prabowo said he was well aware of his reputation as “a maverick.” On Tuesday, ahead of his appointment, he said Gerindra was ready to help the Jokowi government. “I will work as hard as possible to achieve the targets and expectations,” Prabowo said.
His presence in cabinet may also raise concerns about the heightened influence of another sensitive subject in Indonesia -- political Islam, particularly when combined with Islamist cleric Ma’ruf Amin as vice president and the announcement that the moderate Islamist Mahfud MD will join the cabinet as the nation’s top security minister, said Peter Mumford from the Eurasia Group in a note.
“Prabowo made a pact with very hardline Islamists ahead of this year’s election and has generally been prone to whipping up social division,” Mumford said.
The president’s move to broaden his coalition to include six parties comes as he heads into his second and final five-year term vowing further reforms, including to the nation’s labor law, that could spark further unrest. In his inauguration speech Sunday, Jokowi said these changes were needed if Indonesia was to realize a dream of becoming one of the world’s top five economies by 2045.
The appointment of a new-look team follows a wave of protests over a weakening of the nation’s anti-graft agency and a plan to amend the criminal code that critics say would have infringed on free speech and human rights. With Gerindra joining his grand coalition along with other parties, Jokowi has managed to secure the support of three-quarters of the parliament. Yet it doesn’t necessarily guarantee him an easy ride.
“Although the president’s majority in parliament would increase and dilute the influence of any individual powerbroker, this would not translate into a faster pace of reform,” said Mumford. “Instead, an expanded political coalition would mean more vested interests to manage and compromises to make.”
Military Boost
A staunch supporter of Indonesia projecting greater power, Prabowo’s appointment as defense minister also has implications for military spending in the world’s fourth most populous country. When campaigning back in March, Prabowo said at 107 trillion rupiah per year, which is less than 1% of gross domestic product, Indonesia’s military budget was too low.
It’s a view that would find support in Washington, according to Brian Harding, the deputy director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. He said Indonesia’s defense budget needs to grow for the country to have a military commensurate with the country’s size and global role and to be on par with close neighbors such as Singapore, let alone Australia.
“Increasing spending to enhance Indonesian’s capacity to manage external threats such as Chinese incursions in the Natuna Sea would be welcomed by the United States and other partners,” Harding said.
“Washington sees Indonesia as a natural partner on a wide range of global and regional issues and will not hold up cooperation based on this appointment,” he said. “While Prabowo’s appointment will raise concerns about the direction of the country, including its commitment to human rights protections and post-Suharto reforms, the United States will work with Prabowo in his new role.”
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