Prabowo puts Cabinet to the test with military boot camp retreat

JAKARTA – Indonesia’s new Cabinet will undergo a military-style retreat this week as President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, aims to drill his leadership team with discipline and teamwork as they plan for the first 100 days of his term.

More than 100 newly appointed ministers, deputy ministers and agency heads will be taking part in a multi-day retreat held in the area of the country’s military academy, nestled among the mountains of Magelang, Central Java, a six-hour drive from the capital Jakarta, Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi told reporters on Oct 24.

The Cabinet flew in using a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft on Oct 24, based on an Instagram post shared by Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra.

They have been given full camouflage uniforms, sports jerseys and white shirts for their stay, and will camp in luxury tents on a hill around the site of the military academy.

“I prioritise working together as a team,” Mr Prabowo said at his first plenary Cabinet meeting on Oct 23. “We will have coordination in Magelang. I think it will bring many benefits.”

This approach speaks to the leadership style of Mr Prabowo, who himself trained and graduated from the military academy in Magelang back in the 1970s.

In his first few speeches as President, he has employed a strongman rhetoric to emphasise obedience and cohesiveness, especially given the much bigger Cabinet he has created.

During the retreat, members of the Cabinet will be asked to present their priority programmes and policies for Mr Prabowo’s five-year term, said Minister of Culture Fadli Zon.

They may also do some outdoor activities to understand the character of each individual in the team, Mr Setiadi added.

“This activity in Magelang is to galvanise the ministers,” the President’s communications chief Hasan Nasbi said.

“But this is not militarism. This is for togetherness.”
BLOOMBERG