Analyst sees young officers reshaping ABRI's role
YOGYAKARTA (JP): The most appropriate role for the Armed Forces (ABRI) in Indonesia's future sociopolitical arena is one which elicits people's respect for it, a military analyst says.
Yahya Muhaimin, from Gadjah Mada University, said he believed the new generation of younger officers with increasing influence would take the lead to achieve the ideal.
Yahya told The Jakarta Post that ABRI has two kinds of leaders: those naturally shaped by experience and younger "trained" officers. Of the latter, there are those who can be categorized as "conventional professional", preoccupied mostly with security matters, and those who are "new professionals" because they are concerned not only with security but also the social, economic and political situation.
"The future role of the Armed Forces will be determined by the young officers. Unlike senior military leaders trained by instinct and experience, the young officers are more scientifically inclined because of their academic backgrounds.
"The future of ABRI is in the hands of officers such as Maj. Gen. Prabowo (Subianto), Maj. Gen. Bambang Yudhoyono and Col. Syamsul Ma'arif," he said, referring to the commander of the Army special force, the chief of the southern Sumatra regional military command, and the chief of Bhaskara Jaya military district in Surabaya respectively.
"The new professional officers are not only top-notch but are also able to read social and political situations."
He said the new breed of officers were not only consistent in holding up the culture and tradition of ABRI but also have vision. Yahya compared them with President Soeharto and Gen. (ret) A.H. Nasution as former officers from a military tradition seasoned by experience. "We can't say which group is better, both are needed.
"What's the proper role for ABRI in the future? One which makes people respect it, and which enables it to respect the people," he said.
The Armed Forces' Dwifungsi, or dual function, allows it an official role in politics. Under the concept military officers can hold civilian jobs from the lowest level of the bureaucracy in the villages to the upper echelons of cabinet ministries.
Critics have often said that the Armed Forces should gradually reduce its sociopolitical role, take a backseat and let civilians assume more influential, decision-making posts.
Yahya said a role that elicits people's respect and teaches Armed Forces officers to respect people should come about from "a unified vision, perception and interpretation of important issues such as democratization, public participation and national stability."
The role needs a "unified stance on state matters," said Yahya, who is also a deputy chairman of the 28-million-strong Muhammadiyah Moslem organization.
Despite the current criticism of the military's over- involvement in public life, Yahya is confident the right role for ABRI to play will be evident in the near future.
"If people are willing to work at it, reciprocal respect between the Armed Forces and the people would be easy to establish."
He said that civilian leaders such as State Minister of Public Housing Akbar Tandjung and Minister of Transmigration Siswono Yudohusodo, both former student activists, have displayed a relatively unified stance on many state matters.
"The two seem to have a common vision on many issues. If the civilian leaders can do it, why not (ABRI leaders and other civilians)?" he said. "As long as there is willingness to respect one another and no intention to look down on one another, there should be no problem (in establishing more unified positions)."
Yahya also discussed the Armed Forces' handling of the recent unrest in many parts of the country over the last few months. He said he "sensed" the upheavals were possibly contrived by "groups who, for their individual and collective interests, were trying to sabotage the general election" which constitutes the legitimacy for the New Order administration. (swe)