(March 20): Indonesia passed legislation expanding the role of Southeast Asia’s largest armed forces, altering curbs installed two decades ago after the Suharto dictatorship and prompting angry demonstrations against perceived democratic backsliding under President Prabowo Subianto.

Parliament, controlled by parties of former general Prabowo’s ruling coalition, on Thursday morning approved revisions that will let active-duty military personnel assume a broader range of civilian positions, including within the Attorney General’s Office, and expand the scope of non-combat military operations. By mid-afternoon, hundreds had gathered outside the legislature in Jakarta, with some throwing stones, spray-painting walls and setting tires ablaze as they demanded lawmakers reverse the changes, Kompas TV reported. 

The legislation revises a 2004 law aimed at reining in the military’s deep reach in politics and business under Suharto, who ruled Indonesia for three decades until his ouster amid street protests in the late 1990s. It was passed at breakneck speed after Prabowo, Suharto’s former son-in-law, threw his support behind the effort despite concerns it could undermine one of the region’s most successful democracies by reviving dual-function policies in which military officers have civil roles.

“There is no reinstatement of the dual-function role in this revision,” Sufmi Dasco Ahmad, a senior politician from Prabowo’s political party, said ahead of the vote referring to the military’s long reach decades ago. Opposition is “understandable,” but discussions with stakeholders were extensive, he said.

Outside the parliament building, a coalition of student protesters unfurled banners, with one reading “Maintain Civilian Supremacy,” according to the live broadcast.

They vowed to continue to protest until their demands were met, in a move reminiscent of demonstrations which last August successfully pressured lawmakers to abandon legal changes seen as entrenching power for the nation’s elite.

The legal changes come as foreign investors are already questioning Indonesia’s economic direction under Prabowo, with heavy selling of stocks earlier this week partly due to fears, since dispelled, that the country’s long-serving finance minister would resign. The benchmark index was up as much as 2.1% early Thursday, but pared most of those gains and was 1% higher in afternoon trading in Jakarta.

Lawmakers watered down some of the military bill’s most contentious provisions amid public backlash while upholding rules barring its involvement in business activities, something some defence officials lobbied to change.

The final version also removed a draft clause that would have given the president unrestricted authority to assign active military personnel to government posts, a power that activists argue would mark a return to the country’s authoritarian era. It clarified that officers assigned to civilian roles not explicitly covered under the law would be required to step down from military service.

Still, the revised law raises the number of government institutions with positions open to active military personnel. It also increases the retirement age for officers across all ranks.

Authorities had expected protests, this morning deploying about 5,000 police and military personnel outside parliament with water cannons and tactical vehicles, according to police, though only few protesters were present during the passage of the bill.

“Indonesia is becoming like Thailand or Myanmar, where soldiers increasingly occupy civilian positions,” said Usman Hamid, executive director of Amnesty International Indonesia. “The enemy is not a military coup or civil war, but Prabowo’s approach so far has shown a high degree of military involvement.”

Officials have said the changes are necessary to address modern security challenges, citing cyber threats, terrorism, transnational crime and hybrid warfare. They argue that military involvement in non-combat operations, including food security and infrastructure projects, is essential to safeguard stability in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

“Indonesia’s armed forces must transform to support a realistic geostrategy in facing both conventional and non-conventional threats,” Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin told lawmakers after the vote. He said the revisions would clarify the limits and mechanisms for military involvement in non-combat roles, and seek to improve soldier welfare.

An informal expansion of military influence has already been in motion under Prabowo. Since taking office in October, the president has appointed active-duty officers to lead the state logistics agency and several ministries unrelated to defence. The army also plays a key role in his flagship free lunch programme, while his defence ministry plans to establish territorial development battalions in every district across the sprawling archipelago to support his food self-sufficiency initiatives.

Critics nevertheless argue the new law is politically motivated, benefitting a select group of high-ranking officers. “There’s a possibility Prabowo is looking after his allies while he remains in power,” said Made Supriatma, a visiting fellow at ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute. “He wants his people to circulate before consolidating control.”

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