JAKARTA, 20 OCT – Prabowo Subianto was appointed as Indonesia’s eighth president today, completing his journey from an accused former general to the presidential palace.
The 73-year-old former defense minister was cheered on the streets by thousands of waving supporters after being sworn in before lawmakers and foreign dignitaries.
Banners and billboards welcoming the new president filled Jakarta as tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate with public speeches and musical performances along the city’s main thoroughfares.
Prabowo Subianto is a long-time rival of President Joko Widodo who ran against him for the presidency twice and refused to accept his defeat in 2014 and 2019.
But Widodo later appointed Prabowo as defense chief after his re-election, paving the way for an alliance despite their competing political parties.
Backed by Widodo, Prabowo won a landslide victory in a direct presidential election in February on a promise of policy continuity.
Prabowo was sworn in with his new vice president, former mayor of Surakarta, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37, who is Widodo’s son.
Prabowo, who comes from one of the country’s wealthiest families, is a stark contrast to Widodo, the first Indonesian president to emerge from outside the political and military elite who came from a modest background and as president often mingled with the working-class crowd.
Prabowo, who has never held elective office, will lead a huge island nation whose diversified economy is booming amid strong global demand for its natural resources.
He vowed to continue Widodo’s modernization drive, which has boosted Indonesia’s economic growth by building infrastructure and harnessing the nation’s abundant resources.
He also promised to continue Widodo’s most ambitious and controversial project, the construction of a new capital in Borneo, some 2,000 kilometers from congested Jakarta.
Before February’s presidential election, he also promised to provide free school lunches and milk to 78.5 million students in more than 400,000 schools across the country, aiming to reduce malnutrition and stunted growth among children. – AP
