Unmasking the Unfounded Attacks by Prabowo’s Blind Loyalists on Anies Baswedan
FOLLOWING the first presidential debate, a blind loyalist of Prabowo Subianto harshly criticized Anies Baswedan. The loyalist accused Anies of being unrefined and arrogant, asserting that he was lifted from obscurity by Prabowo. I refer to this person as a Blind Loyalist (LB) because they lack rationality when writing about Prabowo, holding him in unreasonably high regard.
This LB proclaimed Prabowo as the epitome of goodness, highlighting his support for pesantrens (Islamic boarding schools) among other deeds. He praised Prabowo’s heroism in East Timor during the conflict between the Indonesian military and resistance groups from 1975 to 1999, claiming that Prabowo nearly died in combat. For the LB, a former acquaintance of mine, Prabowo is the ultimate figure of virtue.
However, the LB omits mentioning Prabowo’s involvement with the controversial Tim Mawar (Rose Team), whose actions remain unresolved to this day. He also fails to recount Prabowo’s alleged siege of President BJ Habibie’s house in Kuningan, Jakarta, and the Merdeka Palace a day after Habibie replaced Soeharto on May 22, 1998.
At that time, Prabowo was the Commander of the Army’s Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad). The then-Commander of the Armed Forces, General Wiranto – who now aligns with Prabowo – claimed he was unaware of the siege. Habibie dismissed Prabowo from his Kostrad position, and the Officers’ Honor Council issued a letter on August 21, 1998, recommending Prabowo’s discharge from the military.
The question arises: what was the purpose of besieging President Habibie? According to Habibie’s memoir “Decisive Moments” (2006), Prabowo showed defiance in a one-on-one conversation in the President’s office. When Habibie told Prabowo that presidential security was the responsibility of the Presidential Security Force (Paspampres), Prabowo angrily retorted, “What kind of President are you? You’re naïve.”
Returning to the LB’s narrative about Prabowo’s heroism in East Timor, Prabowo wasn’t the only one who nearly lost his life in the conflict. Many Indonesian military (ABRI, now TNI) soldiers perished, and there were many other heroic stories, some even more profound than Prabowo’s sacrifices.
Another story involves Prabowo’s arrogance. Grace Natalie, former chairperson of the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI), claimed Prabowo regretted being close to the Islamic community. Grace, who initially despised Prabowo but later supported him after Jokowi’s endorsement, confirmed this sentiment.
Prabowo’s right to distance himself from Islamic circles and Grace’s confirmation of this is beneficial. It clearly delineates the ideological and socio-political battle lines, removing any ambiguity.
Finally, concerning the LB’s portrayal of Prabowo as a defender of the people, this is not entirely accurate. Prabowo’s priority is unlikely to be the interests of the common people, as his participation in the 2024 presidential election depends on Jokowi’s support.
Supporting Jokowi aligns with the interests of the business oligarchy. Therefore, if Prabowo becomes president, he will likely prioritize the agenda of greedy tycoons who exploit national wealth.
Prabowo also has personal and family interests to consider. Remember, Hashim Djojohadikusumo, a significant businessman and Prabowo’s brother, has several major projects related to IKN or located near it, including a clean water supply company and a biofuel production venture, valued at around USD 700 million or approximately 10 trillion Rupiah. Hashim’s business would undoubtedly flourish even more if Prabowo were in the Presidential Palace.
* Asyari Usman, Columnist, Senior Journalist at Freedom News
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