Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
appointed on Tuesday Lt. Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo as the new Army chief of staff to
replace Gen. Budiman, who was abruptly dismissed from his position three months
before reaching retirement age.
Gatot
was one of three candidates proposed by Indonesian Military (TNI) commander
Gen. Moeldoko to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
TNI
spokesperson Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya said Moeldoko had proposed to Yudhoyono three
names of possible successors to Budiman; Army Strategic Reserves Command
(Kostrad) commander Lt. Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo; deputy Army chief of staff Lt.
Gen. M. Munir and secretary-general of the National Defence Council (Watannas)
Lt. Gen. Waris.
“Yes,
Pak Gatot is the replacement,” TNI spokesman Maj. Gen. Fuad Basya said.
Speculation
was rife that the sudden decision to replace Budiman was due to his political
involvement in the run-up to the July 9 presidential election.
Rumours
about Budiman’s alleged partiality in the presidential election circulated
after Yudhoyono lashed out at military and police generals who were engaged in
talks with political parties that solicited their support for the two
presidential tickets in July 9 presidential election.
Yudhoyono
alleged that certain politicians had urged the generals to disobey him.
“[The
individual said] there is no need to listen to the direction of the President,
who is like a sinking ship. Let us just hop on the new ship that sails,”
Yudhoyono said before scores of generals on June 2 at the Defence Ministry
building.
Budiman
denied he was the one who made the controversial remarks.
“I
never did such a thing. I am a warrior, not a traitor. I walk on the right and
straight path,” he said.
Budiman
added that in his last days in power, he would remain focused on maintaining
security following the announcement of the elected president.
The
Presidential Palace denied Budiman’s dismissal had anything to do with the
presidential election.
Presidential
spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said Yudhoyono had considered replacing the Army
chief of staff months ago given that Budiman would retire in September 2014.
“This
has more to do with the regeneration of TNI leadership,” Julian said.
Also on
Tuesday, Moeldoko defended the decision to dismiss Budiman, saying there was
nothing political about the move despite the fact that it was made on the same
day the General Elections Commission (KPU) announced the final tally of the
presidential election.
“The
announcement of the presidential election result is a political activity while
the dismissal of the Army chief of staff is an organisational matter.”
Intelligence
analyst from the Indonesia Institute for Defence and Strategic Studies (LESPERSSI),
Rizal Dharma Putra, said that Yudhoyono may have been angry about
Budiman’s
meeting with Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman
Megawati Soekarnoputri prior to the presidential election.
“There
is no urgency to replace Budiman now, aside from political reasons. Budiman met
with Megawati, without telling the President first. Yudhoyono saw this as
inappropriate behavior,” he said.
Budiman
was inaugurated by Yudhoyono as the Army chief of staff at the State Palace in
late August 2013, replacing Moledoko who was named military chief at that time.
Budiman,
the former Defence Ministry secretary-general who was once also deputy Army
chief of staff, was at the top of the military academy’s 1978 class and was
awarded the Adhi Makayasa medal. He is also known as one of the Army’s
brightest.
Ina
Parlina and Yuliasri Perdani
Business & Investment Opportunities
Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd (SBC) is incorporated
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