Andi Adam Faturahman, Ninis Chairunnisa, Jakarta – Democracy activists and academics have criticised President Prabowo Subianto's plan to send elected regional heads on a retreat similar to the one that ministers went to at the start of his term in office.
Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) Chairperson Muhammad Isnur believes that retreat activities for regional heads further shows how heavily entrenched militarism is in the Prabowo administration.
Rather than equipping regional heads for their jobs by having them take part in a retreat at the Magelang Military Academy in Central Java, Prabowo could test their nationalist sentiment and alignment of vision by directly monitoring the work of regional heads in the field.
"Don't do this because of his military background, as if everything has to be carried out in a military style too", Isnur said when contacted on Monday January 13.
Mulawarman University lecturer in constitutional law Herdiansyah Hamzah agrees with Isnur. He said that Prabowo's plan to hold a retreat for regional heads increasingly showed the entrenchment of military nuances in the administration.
Moreover, the previous retreat conducted by Prabowo involving members of the Red and White Cabinet tended to prioritise physical aspects rather than thinking about equipping his staff for their job.
"There is also has no obligation to do this", said Hamzah.
Instead of harmonising their vision and mission, Hamzah believes that a retreat for regional heads is an effort by Prabowo's to subdue regional leaders under his administration. Moreover, not all elected regional heads come from the same coalition of political parties as Prabowo.
In fact, according to Hamzah, harmonising regional heads' vision and mission does not need to be done through a retreat. Because the authority between the central and regional governments already has its respective regulations.
PDI-P supports planned retreat
The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) supports Prabowo's plan to hold a retreat for elected regional heads. PDI-P spokesperson Guntur Romli said that regional leaders elected from his party are ready to work with the central government.
"In our opinion, the alignment of the central and regional vision is very good", Romli said in a short message on Saturday January 11.
He gave an example of the elected governor of Jakarta Special Region (DKI) Pramono Anung who has already conveyed his willingness to take part in the retreat.
With regard to the militaristic style of the retreat, Romli himself is leaving the format of the training itself up to the central government. "The important thing for the main program is how in the end [regional] leaders really serve the people", he said.
Currently, the PDI-P is the only party with seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) that has not expressed support for Prabowo's government.
Need for synchronisation
The planned retreat for elected regional heads was initially conveyed by Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Institutions Yusril Ihza Mahendra. Mahendra said that there is a need for synchronisation between central and regional policy, so a harmonisation is needed by organising a retreat.
"All the regional heads will be gathered together so that we have the same perception of the problems faced by the government", Mahendra said at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Friday January 10.
However, Mahendra continued, with regard to when and where the retreat for regional heads will be held, all of this still depend on the schedule of the inauguration of elected regional head.
-- Daniel Ahmad Fajri and Hendrik Yaputra contributed to writing this article.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "YLBHI dan Akademisi Kritik Rencana Prabowo soal Retreat bagi Kepala Daerah: Kental Militerisme".]
