Indonesia swears in Prabowo Subianto as the country’s eighth president

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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated Sunday as the eighth president of the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country, completing his journey from a former general accused of human rights abuses during the dark days of Indonesia’s military dictatorship to the presidential palace. .

The former Defense Minister, who turned 73 on Thursday, was cheered in the streets by thousands of his supporters who waved after he took the oath on the Holy Quran, in front of lawmakers and foreign dignitaries. Banners and billboards welcoming the new president filled the streets of the capital, Jakarta, as tens of thousands gathered for celebrations, including speeches and musical performances along the city’s main streets.

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Subianto has been a long-time rival of the popular President Joko Widodo, against whom he ran twice for president and refused to accept defeat on both occasions, in 2014 and 2019.

But Widodo appointed Subianto defense minister after his re-election, paving the way for a coalition despite rival political parties. During the election campaign, Subianto ran as the outgoing president’s heir apparent, pledging to continue signature policies such as building a new multibillion-dollar capital and imposing restrictions on the export of raw materials aimed at boosting local industry.

With the support of Widodo, Subianto achieved a landslide victory in the direct presidential elections that took place last February based on promises of policy continuity.

Subianto was sworn in with his new deputy, 37-year-old former Surakarta mayor, Gibran Rakabuming Raka. He chose Raka, who is Widodo’s son, as his running mate, with Widodo preferring Subianto over his former party’s candidate. Former rivals have become tacit allies, even though Indonesian presidents do not usually endorse the candidates.

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But how he will govern Southeast Asia’s largest economy – where Muslims make up nearly 90% of Indonesia’s 282 million people – remains uncertain after a campaign in which he made few concrete promises beyond continuity with the popular former president. Great.

Subianto, who comes from one of the country’s richest families, contrasts sharply with Widodo, the first Indonesian president to emerge from outside the political and military elite who came from a humble background and as president often mingled with working-class crowds.

Subianto was a special forces commander until the army expelled him in 1998 over accusations that he played a role in the kidnapping and torture of activists and other abuses. He never faced trial and went into self-imposed exile in Jordan in 1998, although many of his followers were tried and convicted.

Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein was expected to attend Sunday’s ceremony, but he canceled the ceremony at the last minute due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, and decided instead to send Foreign Minister Nancy Nemruqa as his special envoy. Subianto and Abdullah met in person in June for talks in Amman about humanitarian aid for people affected by the war in Gaza.

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Subianto, who has never held elective office before, will lead a huge, diverse archipelago nation whose economy has boomed amid strong global demand for its natural resources. But it will have to contend with global economic distress and regional tensions in Asia, where regional conflicts and rivalry between the United States and China loom large.

The ceremony was attended by leaders and senior officials from more than 30 countries, including Chinese Vice President Han Zheng and leaders of Southeast Asian countries. US President Joe Biden sent Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations. Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, was also among the US delegation.

Army and police forces, along with armored vehicles, fire trucks and ambulances, were deployed throughout the capital, and the main roads were closed to ensure the swearing-in.

The election result capped a long comeback for Subianto, who had been banned for years from traveling to the United States and Australia.

He pledged to continue Widodo’s modernization efforts, which have boosted Indonesia’s economic growth by building infrastructure and tapping into the country’s abundant resources. The signature policy requires nickel, a major Indonesian export and the main component of electric vehicle batteries, to be processed in local factories rather than exported raw.

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He also promised to press ahead with Widodo’s most ambitious and controversial project: building a new capital on Borneo, about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) from congested Jakarta.

Ahead of the presidential election in February, he also promised to provide free school lunches and milk to 78.5 million students in more than 400,000 schools across the country, with the aim of reducing malnutrition and stunted growth among children.

Indonesia is a bastion of democracy in Southeast Asia, a diverse and economically prosperous region that includes authoritarian governments, police states, and emerging democracies. After decades of dictatorship under President Suharto, the country was rocked by political, ethnic and religious unrest in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since then, it has consolidated its democratic transition as the world’s third-largest democracy and is home to a rapidly expanding middle class.

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Associated Press journalists Edna Tarrigan and Andy Jatmicko contributed to this report.

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