The appointment of Lieutenant General (ret.) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin as defense minister by President Prabowo Subianto will have an impact on the improvement of Indonesia defense capabilities in the medium and long term, a military analyst says.
A researcher at the Indonesia Institute for Defense and Strategic Studies, Beni Sukadis, said Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, a 1974 graduate of the National Military Academy who served as Deputy Defense Minister in 2010-2014, is the right person to sit on the post of defense minister.
“I have never heard something bad, or human right cases against Sjafrie. So his track record is still clean,” Beni told Indonesia Business Post on October 23, 2024.
Hamish McDonald [et al.] in a report titled Masters of Terror: Indonesia’s Military and Violence in East Timor in 1999 published by the Australian National University, however, had a different account on Sjafrie.
In the report, Sjafrie, formally an assistant to the Indonesian Military (TNI) Chief of General Affairs (Lieutenant General Sugiono), was thought to have spent much of the times in 1999 leading a clandestine counter-insurgency campaign in Aceh, turning up in East Timor for the first time just three days before the UN ballot. He was alleged to have stayed on and helped lead the planning of the scorched earth campaign that followed the announcement of the ballot result.
In the report, Francisco Kalbuadi (Chico), then an informant for the Military Intelligence Services (SGI), identified Sjafrie at the invasion of Bishop Belo’s house by soldiers and militia men on September 6, 1999. He testified that Sjafrie, in civilian dress, was directing the operation from the road outside the compound.
Sjafrie has dismissed Chico’s allegations, saying that he was at the TNI headquarters at the time of the September 6, 1999 attack on Belo’s house. He claimed he left for East Timor as a member of a combined TNI-Police team under Rear Admiral Yoost Menko (Intelligence Assistant to TNI Chief of General Affairs) on August 27, 1999 assigned to arrange an end to violence just ahead of the ballot on August 30.
Chief of the United Nations Mission in East Timor (Unamet) Ian Martin confirmed that Sjafrie was brought from Jakarta about that time for this purpose. Sjafrie said he returned to Jakarta the next day, August 28. He claimed he made a second visit, this time of just a few hours, to oversee security preparations for a UN delegation, on September 11, 1999.
Defense programs
Beni suggested that as defense minister, Sjafrie should pay more attention on improving the 2025 -2045 military essential force in an attempt to strengthen Indonesia’s national defense and security capabilities in the long term. In his opinion, the new defense minister should focus on defense equipment modernization.
“Pak Sjafrie needs to continue the military weaponry modernization program that is best suited to contemporary threats, both in terms of technology and operating doctrine. This includes the development of cyber and drone capabilities that are increasingly relevant in modern warfare,” he said.
Besides, he cited, the new minister should prioritize human resource capacity building, including upgrading the skills and expertise of defense personnel, both in technology and strategy, as well as introducing cutting-edge technology-oriented military education and training programs.
On the other hand, the new defense minister should also focus on the development of maritime and air defense.
“As a strategic archipelago, Indonesia needs to improve its maritime and air power. Investments in warships, fighter aircraft and advanced radars are an important part of this strategy,” Beni said.
In addition to this, he should also focus on international collaboration and technology transfer.
“The new defense minister should encourage defense cooperation with developed countries for the sake of technology transfer and in earning Indonesia’s position on the global and regional stage, especially in maintaining regional security stability,” Beni concluded.
