Military cadets get marching orders

JAKARTA: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono agreed on Tuesday to strip officer cadets off their long-standing privilege of receiving their commissions at the Presidential Palace.

From now on, commissions will be handed out at the academy from which the cadets graduated.

"The President said the ceremonies would take place on a rotating basis in the Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Army Academy. The palace belongs to the people," Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto said after meeting the President.

The first ceremony to commission newly graduated cadets outside the palace will be held on Dec. 16 at the Army Academy in Magelang, Central Java.

The tradition of commissioning officer cadets at the palace was introduced by former president Soeharto.-- JP