Ika Ningtyas, Inge Klara Safitri, Jakarta – President Prabowo Subianto said recently that there are foreign forces who want to sew disunity in Indonesia through non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the mass media. The statement was made during a speech at the anniversary of the Gerindra Party in Sentul, West Java, on Saturday February 15.
In his speech, the general chairperson of the Greater Indonesia Movement Party asked the people to be on guard against foreign forces that are seeking to incite trouble. "It will be revealed that non-governmental organisations and the mass media are being financed by foreign parties to influence public opinion", Prabowo said.
The narrative about these forces or foreign lackeys/stooges (antek asing) has been circulating massively on social media recently. According to the dictionary, the term "antek" refers to a party that is manipulated or becomes the accomplice of other parties.
A similar narrative re-emerged during the House of Representative's (DPR) discussions on revisions to the Indonesian Military Law (UU TNI). The civil society group that broke into a closed meeting at the Fairmont Hotel in Jakarta on Saturday March 15 were labelled as a foreign lackeys by hundreds of accounts on Facebook and Instagram, including among others the accounts @Kesdam_9udayana (Udayana IX Regional Military Command Medical Department), @jaya_polisi_militer (Jayakarta Regional Military Command Military Police) and @yonif741gn (Infantry Battalion 741).
These three accounts are active on Instagram and distributed identical content in the form of a video of the demonstration by the civil society activists at the Fairmont Hotel. The video was also given the title Indonesia Under the Threat of Foreign Lackey Movements! (Indonesia Dalam Bahaya Antek Asing Bergerak!). Uploads to these accounts mostly contain information on the activities of the TNI.
Origins of the foreign lackey narrative
Tempo's Fact Checking Team compiled data on the internet with the keyword "foreign lackey" (antek asing) to investigate the origin and pattern of the narrative's use in Indonesia. We found 100 articles and selected the documents published by the media, then selected one news item on similar activities.
The Fact Checking Team found 38 articles and videos from online media published in 2014-2025. The term foreign lackey was used in various speeches, interviews and certain events. We then grouped the findings based on year, actors, events and target groups. Although the actual number of articles or documents that used the term foreign lackeys may well be more than the documents we found.
The Fact Checking Team's research showed that the foreign lackey narratives appeared nine times in 2025, eight times in 2024 and six times in 2023. Meanwhile the actor who used the term foreign lackey was Prabowo Subianto on 17 occasions. Broken down, he used it three times during the 2014 presidential election, four times during the 2019 presidential election, four times as Minister of Defence, three times during the 2024 presidential election and two times as president. Social organisations and buzzers also used the term, six times and five times respectively.
The term was addressed to critical groups such as civil society and student organisations, namely on 16 occasions. In addition to this, it was used against political opponents seven times.
Shifting targets
The use of the term foreign lackey has also experienced a shift in its use. Prabowo has even used the term to criticise government officials and the media. The Army Special Forces (Kopassus) commander also claimed there was foreign intervention in the 2014 presidential election.
"Certain foreign countries invite regents, mayors, and try to influence them. We consider this foreign intervention. Imagine, the elections of the Republic of Indonesia, foreign countries also influence these", Prabowo said during a presidential election dispute hearing at the Constitutional Court in August 2014 as quoted by Republika.
Prabowo again used the term foreign lackey in the 2019 presidential election in criticising the state of the county which was then led by President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Vice President Jusuf Kalla. The retired general said that there are still foreign parties who wanted to control Indonesia even though the country is already independent. "Indonesia became independent for sovereignty, not to become a foreign lackey", he said on September 22, 2018.
Widodo, who was then Prabowo's rival in the 2019 presidential election, also responded. "He shouldn't go pointing the finger at foreign lacks when in fact he is a foreign lackey himself", Widodo said on February 3, 2019, referring to Prabowo's military training at the US Army's Fort Bragg and Fort Benning in the 1980s.
After Widodo appointed Prabowo as a minister in the cabinet following the 2019 presidential election, the foreign lackey narrative began to shift. Prabowo no longer attached the foreign lackey narrative to the government, but began referring to critical group as foreign lackeys.
When giving a speech at an event at the Ministry of Defence in November 2023, Prabowo mentioned the land conflict on Rempang Island in the Riau Islands, saying there may be foreign intelligence interference. "We have received reports from various sources that the events in Rempang have begun to involve foreign intelligence interference", he said.
During the 2024 presidential election campaign, Prabowo accused those who criticised President Widodo as foreign lackeys. "President Joko Widodo, there are those at the moment, I think there is the possibility that these people may be foreign lackeys. Pak [Mr] Jokowi is constantly being denigrated", Prabowo said at the Delta Sports Centre in Sidoarjo, East Java, on February 9, 2024.
After Prabowo was inaugurated as president on October 20, 2024, the foreign lackey narrative was used intensely to label critical groups. Out of the 10 occasions where the foreign lackey rhetoric was used, on eight occasions the narrative was pinned to civil society organisations, students or other critical groups. Its use also expanded and was also used by ministers, buzzers and social organisations that support the government.
Expert analysis
Padjadjaran University lecturer Kunto Adi Wibowo says that Prabowo's has been using the foreign lackey narrative since the 2014 presidential election. According to Wibowo, this strategic rhetoric was powerful and effective enough to provide political benefits for Prabowo and was used to delegitimise those who criticised him. "Although in fact Prabowo also cooperates with foreigners", Wibowo said on Friday March 21.
While serving as Defence Minister for example, Prabowo bought primary defence equipment from many foreign countries. According to a Tempo report, foreign debt at the Defence Ministry rose from US$20.75 billion to US$25 billion or the equivalent of 387.5 trillion rupiah over the 2020-2024 period due to spending on foreign defence equipment. Some of the equipment purchased included 24 F-15EX fighter aircraft from the US and 42 Rafale fighter jets from France.
Quoting from CNN, Prabowo also requested the support of the Chinese government to fund his free nutritional meals (MBG) program. China approved the support as outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 11, 2024.
According to Wibowo, psychologically, the foreign lackey narrative is easy to use to build sympathy and a "we versus them" identity because it appears to create a common enemy. This strategy has been used by populist figures in many countries such as the experience in Britain, Germany and the US.
The deputy director of the Herb Feith Indonesian Engagement Centre, Sabina Satriyani Puspita, says that the use of the foreign lackey narrative can alienate people from actual problems and can kill off peoples' critical thinking. Because, as part of a strategy of disinformation and propaganda, the foreign lackey narrative also utilises social media networks and buzzers to influence public opinion.
According to Puspita, the foreign lackey narrative was used by the leaders of Southeast Asian and East Asian countries in the 1990s to respond to the development of human rights values. Human rights was portrayed a western value that is not suitable for the Asian community.
"As a result, individuals and groups of human rights defenders in the region were vulnerable to social intimidation and repression by the state apparatus", said the doctor of political science from the Northwestern University in the US.
Tempo has sought a response from the head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, and the three presidential spokespersons. As of Monday March 24, they have not responded.
– Winahyu Dwi Utami and Artika Farmita contributed to this article.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Penggunaan Narasi Antek Asing oleh Prabowo".]
Source: https://www.tempo.co/politik/penggunaan-narasi-antek-asing-oleh-prabowo-1223654
