There was a time when his name Prabowo Subianto scared most Indonesians. But today young voters seem fascinated by the transformation of the 72-year-old current Indonesian defense minister and former general – who is banned from entering the US for human rights abuses – who has reinvented himself: today he appears as a picturesque grandfather who during of gatherings he stirs up the crowds with his dance, while he likes to be depicted on the internet in the form of a meme (meme) always in a dancing estrus.
Although the official final results of last Wednesday’s (14/2) presidential election will be announced at the end of March, his comfortable lead, with more than 50% of the votes from the first round, ensures him the presidency. It is a dramatic moment in Indonesia’s history as many warn that with Subianto in the presidency, the country will move into the “authoritarian camp”.
His dark past
Subianto is proud of his long career as a special forces officer, but during the period when the long-running Suharto dictatorship (1967-1998) was coming to an end, he was accused of kidnapping and torturing more than 20 student activists who opposed the regime. At least 12 of them are still missing and presumed dead.
He himself married one of Suharto’s daughters and remained in the dictator’s inner circle. He has repeatedly denied all the accusations against him, but he was never held accountable for them or expelled from the Justice. Some say he has really changed and maybe his desire to win the top job in the country was the reason.
But many Indonesians are wary, viewing his presidency with real fear. “His impulse, his instinct is to be xenophobic, to be an authoritarian leader. I’m afraid that won’t change, his character won’t change,” Andreas Harsono of Human Rights Watch told the BBC.
With social media as a weapon
However, thanks to his wide and well-groomed presence on social networking sites, where his team presents him as a “nice grandpa”, he has changed his image, especially attracting young voters who often ignore the accusations against him and believe in his commitment to continue the policy of his very popular predecessor. In fact social media has been the cornerstone of his comfortable reign.
Notably Millennials and Gen Z make up more than half of Indonesia’s 205 million voters, they also account for many of the 167 million Indonesians who use social media. After all, young voters say they prefer to judge him on how he deals with unemployment and the cost of living. Among other things it has promised to create 19,000,000 new jobs in the next five years.
But in reality, no one knows how he will rule. Analysts say he may turn out to be a very indifferent president more concerned with the prestige and pomp of office, but most who know him well emphasize his unpredictable personality.
Prabowo Subianto was born into a wealthy political family and is the son of a famous economist who served in Indonesia’s cabinet. After spending a decade of his childhood in exile in Europe, he returned to Indonesia, joined the army and quickly rose through the ranks to become the head of the country’s elite special forces.
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