Boy Rafli: Upholding the free and active principle to safeguard national sovereignty

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Former Head of the National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT), retired Police Commissioner General Boy Rafli Amar, stated that Indonesia must maintain good relations with all parties without sacrificing national dignity and interests.

To that end, Boy Rafli emphasised the importance of Indonesia remaining committed to the principle of free and active foreign policy, as often reminded by President Prabowo Subianto. He expressed this in a podcast on the YouTube channel Hendri Satrio Official, which aired recently.

Quoted in his statement in Jakarta on Wednesday, Boy Rafli said that threats of foreign intervention against Indonesia are real and not merely excessive concerns.

According to him, foreign intervention must be distinguished between positive and negative forms. Foreign investment entering as capital is considered a form of positive intervention.

However, when foreign parties begin to dictate Indonesia’s policies for their own interests, it enters the category of threatening national sovereignty.

He described Indonesia as a “beautiful girl” that is always sought after by many parties in the world.

Indonesia’s diversity, from 600 languages to 1,300 large and small ethnic groups, instead becomes a vulnerability that can be exploited to divide the nation through foreign intelligence operations.

“If there are people who want Indonesia to become an unstable country, they can carry out such actions,” he said.

Boy Rafli also warned Indonesia not to act naively towards the goodwill of other countries. According to him, every international relationship must be scrutinised critically and with full vigilance so as not to lead to dependency that erodes sovereignty.

“What is behind their kindness? If we are not vigilant, they will end up controlling us later,” he stated.

Previously, President Prabowo conveyed the importance of national vigilance in facing the current increasingly complex dynamics and global political tensions.

In that context, the President affirmed that Indonesia is committed to implementing free and active foreign policy as well as the non-aligned principle. Indonesia will not join any military pact and will continue to prioritise friendship with all nations.

“My foreign policy philosophy is that a thousand friends are too few, one enemy too many,” Prabowo said.