Jakarta, IO – Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo comes from a democratic socialist background. His father was a member of the Partai Sosialis Indonesia or Indonesian Socialist Party usually abbreviated to PSI which was under the leadership of Indonesia’s first prime minister, Sutan Sjahrir and can be compared to a modern-day labour party. It was the Socialists in the Dutch parliament who lobbied the Netherlands government to change the terms of Sjahrir’s exile from Boven Digul in south Papua and equivalent to a death sentence as cerebral malaria was rampant there, to the Banda Islands which are a paradise by comparison. The PSI was known as the intellectuals’ party and its members were amongst the most educated in Indonesia at the time.
During its existence, the PSI always retained close contacts with other socialist and labour organizations around the world. As Indonesia was struggling for independence, the PSI realized that to succeed, Indonesia’s physical struggle would need to be accompanied by diplomatic lobbying abroad, especially in the United States.
In America, figures such as Prabowo’s father, Sumitro Djojohadikusumo were in touch with American labour unions who were instrumental in lobbying Congress to withhold approval for Dutch Marshall Plan aid which was equivalent to the amount of funds the Netherlands were spending to recolonize Indonesia. American tax-payers did not want to pay for Holland’s colonial war and pushed by Congress, the American government was forced to pressure the Netherlands into giving Indonesia independence. The international lobbying was successful and a major strategy in obtaining Indonesian independence – a side note from history which might be of interest to the Palestinians today.
In the 1960s, as a young man under twenty whose family was in exile in London, Prabowo recounted braving the winter winds on his way to a young socialists’ conference, shivering with cold as he could not afford proper winter clothing at the time. It was this touch of the socialist brush, combined with a natural empathy and liking for people that produced a young man with compassion for the underdog and the down trodden and a sense of responsibility to help them. One of the first things that Prabowo did upon his return to Indonesia was to set up a tukang becak or pedicab drivers’ cooperative. In the 1960s, the tukang becaks were amongst the poorest segment of the population in Jakarta, engaged in physical labour with barely enough to eat. During their breaks, they could be seen on benches under trees along the road often eating boiled peanuts.
Unlike many politicians, Prabowo was never a man who struggled for power because he liked power but rather because he viewed it as an instrument needed to bring about good. He was always an idealist and a bit of a romantic. As a cadet at the military academy in Magelang, he would write about his sense of guilt at the opportunities that unlike so many Indonesians of his time, he had access to: the privilege of enough to eat, a fine home, a good education and the opportunity to travel. Too many Indonesians did not even have enough to give their children a nourishing meal. This guilt created a sense of responsibility in him to help his country and his people. He once wrote, “I want so much to do good and to be good… I shall struggle for power because with power one can do great good.”
During its existence, the most important aspiration of the Partai Sosialis Indonesia, was the economic welfare of the people and this is also Prabowo’s primary goal i.e. elevating the standard of living and economic welfare of the people of Indonesia, especially those living below the poverty line. He has passionately declared to the public, “I promise you that before I die, I shall raise this nation to the level of a developed country.”
Linking this promise to death in a sense brings it to the realms of sacredness for him. For many years, Prabowo was also head of the Indonesian Farmers and Fishermen’s Union. Last Sunday, in the final presidential debate before the first round of elections, Prabowo stressed his concern for the welfare of the people by promising free lunches and milk for all children beginning with pregnant mothers until a child reaches adulthood, to prevent the malnutrition and stunting that affects too many children in Indonesia. This alone will already help increase the quality of our human resources. Stunting and malnutrition cost the economy the equivalent of 2-3% of GDP. In 2020, that was commensurate to a staggering US$27 billion each year.
When during the debate, presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo chided Prabowo, saying that free internet access is more important than free lunches and milk for children, Ganjar was indicating how out of touch he is with the economic reality of far too many Indonesian families who struggle to put nutritious food on the table for their children. As Pak Jum a gardener and Jakarta resident who follows the campaign avidly on YouTube and TikTok put it, “Those free lunches for the kids will make a big difference in household expenses.”
In Indonesia, one in four children under the age of five experiences stunting and one in ten children is malnourished. East Nusa Tenggara has the highest rate of stunting with some areas having as high as 46% of children experiencing stunting. That is equivalent to twice the population of Singapore experiencing stunting. Malnutrition and stunting create a host of health risks from a weak immune system to an increased susceptibility to diabetes and cancer, as well as a reduced IQ. Also, 48% of Indonesian women are anaemic which is a risk factor that can cause a new born baby to experience stunting.
In addition, Indonesia has one of ASEAN’s highest maternal mortality rates and stands tenth in place globally with regard to infant mortality. Prabowo promised to bring down these levels by increasing the health of pregnant women and providing better hospitals. He has said that if elected he intends to build a modern hospital in every kabupaten (regency) and a modern health centre in every village. For this, Indonesia will need 140,000 new doctors and to accomplish that he wants to increase the number of medical faculties in universities and to provide 10,000 scholarships. He has also promised to build three million new housing units for those in need.
The second most important aspiration of the Partai Sosialis Indonesia, was creating and maintaining a robust and well-functioning democracy in Indonesia and this too Prabowo has declared several times to be his aim. There are some who doubt his sincerity in this due to the many unproven human rights violations that he has been accused of – making him one of the most unfairly maligned figures in the history of the nation.
In Timor Leste, Prabowo was accused of the murder of former Fretilin leader, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato and of the Massacre of Kraras. In 1998, I went to what was then still East Timor with a journalist from the Baltimore Sun to look for witnesses to these two tragedies. We found a reputable witness to the two events and the information that emerged was that Prabowo was not responsible for either the killing of Lobato (he was in fact, appalled by Lobato’s murder), nor was he in anyway involved in the Massacre of Kraras. On the contrary, when he found out about Massacre, he was able to save some of the survivors who later held a special adat ceremony to thank him.
After the Trisakti shootings and the May riots of 1998, all that most people know is that Prabowo was dishonourably discharged from the military. What many do not realize is that he was never given a trial or permitted in any manner to defend himself. Also, few people realize that afterwards the Indonesian parliament called several generals that it felt were involved in these events for questioning. Of all of them, only Prabowo came to the parliament and voluntarily answered all questions in detail for hours. What emerged is that there has never been any evidence proving his involvement in the May riots or in the Trisakti shootings. In the last debate, when presidential candidate Ganjar Pranowo tried to insinuate Prabowo’s involvement in human rights violations, Prabowo’s quite reasonable reply was, “Then why did your running mate Mafud Md who was Minister of Law and Human Rights not file charges against me?” To which Ganjar had no adequate response.
Far from being the tyrant or warmonger that some seem to think, Prabowo is at heart a peacemaker. It is why he agreed to work together as a cabinet minister, when his political opponent Joko Widodo won the election. He believes that once an election is over it is time to make peace and unite for the good of the nation. His lack of animosity towards rivals and enemies is frequently astonishing.
Prabowo is a statesman who has always enjoyed the company of young people, children and animals. Music moves Prabowo deeply and at his estate in Hambalang there is not only a military band but also bagpipes, gamelan music, an orchestra, and an electric band. There is much dancing and singing on the estate and he is usually in the midst of it. A love of classical music is something he shared with Indonesia’s late president Gus Dur and when in Europe, Prabowo enthusiastically attends concerts and operas. Prabowo speaks several languages and is an avid reader. Books are one of the joys of his life and last year he built a beautiful new library at Hambalang. He once said that no one longs for peace more than a soldier for during war it is the soldier’s life that is sacrificed.
In his book Bumantara, Indonesian philosopher, linguist and sociologist, Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana discusses ASEAN’s identity and its role in a global context. Alisjahbana describes the four main cultural streams in the world as originating from India, China, Europe and the Middle East and writes that most societies have received at least a little influence from one of these four. What makes Southeast Asia and Indonesia in particular unique, is that they have received cultural influences extensively from all four major cultural streams which mixed with local cultures and produced a new synergy often surpassing the original influences. This is why few peoples are afraid of us for looking at Indonesia is like looking into a mirror; each person sees some part of themselves there. It is this that left Samuel Huntington a little confused in categorizing Indonesia which is a bridging nation whose natural role is helping different cultures and societies understand each other and in playing the part of peacemaker. This is something that Prabowo appears to instinctively understand and is reflected in his words when he says that we are everyone’s friend and that even one enemy is too much.
It is also reflected in his foreign policy views. Prabowo is one of the only Indonesian government officials or politicians who has thought deeply about Ukraine and in fact put forward a peace proposal addressing the major points of conflict resolution based on UN principles and resolutions. He has stressed the importance of a ceasefire so that the two sides can start negotiations as he foresaw the military stalemate that they have now reached. This year, the Ukrainians expressed appreciation for his peace proposal and their desire for more Indonesian involvement in their global peace initiatives.
Prabowo is well aware that war in Ukraine affects not only Europe but the world. One example is how it affects the price of food and animal feed globally and he intends Indonesia to play a more leading role on the world stage in tackling global conflict and in shaping geo-political realities especially in the region around Indonesia. There is a new global community and culture evolving in the world today and he wants Indonesia to play a meaningful role in shaping them. For this he wants Indonesia to engage more assertively with the UN, the OIC and ASEAN in creating a more just and balanced world community. He has said that he wants Indonesia to continue to act as an interlocutor between North and South and to bring change in the world through persistence, cooperation and dialogue. Prabowo appears to envision a Pax Indonesica where Indonesia works both abroad and at home in creating a more just and inclusive peace.
Prabowo has not had an easy life for he has seldom chosen the least painless path. He has faced many deeply challenging situations and there are few Indonesians who have had so much slander, misinformation and vitriol not only thrown at them but also been made to suffer grave consequences as a result. Nevertheless, his idealism and sense of responsibility remain intact. The stress Prabowo has faced in life would have finished many a lesser man but Prabowo still has a sense of humour and has kept his compassion for others.
Read: Poltracking Survey: Prabowo-Gibran’s Electability In East Java Hits 60.1%, And Keeps Rising
In the final presidential debate last Sunday, the attitude of both Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo was markedly different than in the previous debates especially the second debate regarding the military. In the second debate, both presidential candidates gleefully ganged up together to attack Prabowo however, this tactic did not appear to please the Indonesian public many of whom perceived it as a form of bullying. Indonesian society is still a very polite one where age is respected and making another loose face in public is not viewed in a sympathetic light. After the debate Prabowo’s popularity continued to rise.
Last Sunday’s debate however, was different. Both Anies Baswedan and Ganjar Pranowo addressed Prabowo deferentially and respectfully – almost as though he were already the President. And Prabowo responded as the President. He apologised to both Anies and Ganjar as well as the electoral commission and the voters for any failings on his part and reiterated his promise to the Indonesian people that he would raise the level of their welfare and that he would struggle for all Indonesians irrespective of ethnic group, religious belief or political affiliations. He would represent not only those who had voted for him but also, those who had not and he ended by reminding Indonesians that success would only be possible if we unite and all pull together. (Tamalia Alisjahbana)
