Gen. Hartono installed as new Army chief of staff
Gen. Hartono installed as new Army chief of staff
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, yesterday installed Gen. R. Hartono as the new Army chief of staff to replace Gen. Wismoyo Arismunandar.
It was a simple and short ceremony that could easily defy the significance of the change in the Army's top leadership.
Hartono took the oath in front of Soeharto and then signed a paper accepting the new task. Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Rilo Pambudi and Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tanto Koeswanto put their signature to the document. It was then over.
Hartono's entire family was present at Merdeka Palace to watch him reach the peak of his military career. Only two years ago he appeared to be at the end of his military career when he was considered for governor of East Java. He was passed over by President Soeharto for Basofi Soedirman. He was then shifted from one job to another until being promoted to his current position.
Only his age -- he is now 53 years old, two years short of the mandatory retirement age -- may prevent him from becoming ABRI chief. Many say his immense experience in territorial, command, teaching and political duties qualifies him for the position.
Hartono was born in Pamekasan on Madura Island in East Java on June 19, 1941. He is the son of a kiyai (respected elder Moslem leader) and the "R" in his name -- which is rarely spelled out -- stands for Raden, signifies his aristocrat background.
He is also a devout Moslem, which is now considered a major asset for an officer given the rising prominent of Islam politics in the country. In the past, the military and Moslem groups viewed each other with suspicion.
Last week, local journalists found the general reciting the Koran when he went to the commander's house for an interview.
And Hartono is known to be closed to kiyais, the respected local Moslem leaders. He also has cordial relations with ulemas of the Nahdlatul Ulama, a Moslem organization.
He graduated from the National Military Academy in 1962 and served a long time at the Siliwangi Regional Military Command in West Java and also at the Strategic Army Reserves Command.
In 1989 he was chief of staff of the Brawijaya Military Command in East Java and a year later he was promoted to the chief of the command, serving there for three years.
Quick succession
He served in three key positions in quick succession from 1993. He began as chief of the ABRI Staff and Command College, moved to governor of the National Defense Institute and then as ABRI chief of socio-political affairs.
He was promoted a four-star general on Feb.1 on the eve of his latest appointment.
There are two firsts with Hartono's appointment to his new post. He is the first one to assume the post from being ABRI's chief of socio-political affairs. Most of his predecessors served as deputy chief of staff of the Army before moving up. Hartono is also the first Army chief of staff to come from the cavalry. Virtually all his predecessors came from the infantry.
During a brief interview immediately after yesterday's ceremony, Hartono refrained from giving too many details about his plans in the Army, stressing that he was not chief of staff until the formal transfer of duty next Monday.
However, Hartono maintained that he would essentially continue with the programs started by Wismoyo, particularly with one that has come to be popularly known as "back to basics".
"This program is part of the five-year strategic plan. I think anyone who came to the post would have to continue the concepts drawn in that plan," he said.
"Back to basics" means encouraging troops to get back to their roots, which is the people, he said referring to the ABRI history which was founded by people's militia during the independence struggle in the 1940s. (emb)