Kostrad gets new chief

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ryamizard Ryacudu (left) relinquishes the command baton to the new chief of the Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad), Lt. Gen. Hadi Waluyo. in a ceremony held on Wednesday at the Kostrad headquarters, Central Jakarta.

Hadi, a 1972 graduate of the Armed Forces Academy (Akabri) and a classmate of predecessor Lt. Gen. Bibit Waluyo, was inducted into his new post in the ceremony. Hadi has also served as the Military Education and Training Command (Kodiklat) chief in Bandung, West Java.

Bibit retired on Aug. 5 upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 55, and Ryamizard took charge of the Army's elite force pending the appointment of Bibit's successor.

The hand-over ceremony came amid a dispute between Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the supreme commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in his capacity as president, and lawmakers over who should replace TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto.

Susilo recently revoked a letter issued by Megawati Soekarnoputri in her final days in office that endorsed Ryamizard as the new TNI chief.

However, legislators -- mostly those affiliated with the Golkar-led Nationhood Coalition -- ignored Susilo's move and has pushed for a discussion over the military leadership.

"I have been summoned by the House of Representatives to face a fit-and-proper-test (on Thursday) that will determine whether I am qualified for the top TNI post or not.

"But I have left the matter to my superiors, namely the current TNI chief and the President," said Ryamizard.

Kostrad has a 29,000-strong force and is thus the largest military unit in the armed forces. Previous Kostrad chiefs include former authoritarian leader Soeharto and former presidential candidate Gen. (ret) Wiranto. -- JP