Indonesia’s Prabowo holds military-style retreat to ‘galvanise’ new ministers

Cabinet members wear camouflage uniforms and camp in luxury tents on a hill around a military academy in Magelang

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Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto shakes hands with a cadet at the military academy in Magelang, Central Java, on Friday. Photo: Media partner of Gerindra Party/AFP

Published: 4:02pm, 25 Oct 2024

Indonesia’s new cabinet will undergo a military-style retreat this week as President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, aims to drill his leadership team with discipline and teamwork as they plan for the first 100 days of his term.

Over 100 newly appointed ministers, deputy ministers and agency heads will take part in a multi-day retreat that will be held in the area of the country’s military academy, nestled among the mountains of Magelang, Central Java, a six-hour drive from the capital Jakarta, Cooperatives Minister Budi Arie Setiadi told reporters.

The cabinet flew in using a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft on Thursday afternoon, based on an Instagram post shared by Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra. They have been given full camouflage uniforms, sports jerseys and white shirts for their stay, and will camp in luxury tents on a hill around the site of the military academy.

“I prioritise working together as a team,” Prabowo, a former general, said at his first plenary cabinet meeting on Wednesday. “We will have coordination in Magelang. I think it will bring many benefits.”

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This approach speaks to the leadership style of Prabowo, who himself trained and graduated from the military academy in Magelang back in the 1970s. In his first few speeches as president, he has employed a strongman rhetoric to emphasise obedience and cohesiveness especially given the much-bigger cabinet he has created.