Top 10 Amazing Facts about Prabowo Subianto

Prabowo Subianto- Author; Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Indonesia- Wikimedia

Top 10 Amazing Facts about Prabowo Subianto

Lieutenant General (Retired) Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo, born on 17th October 1951, is an Indonesian politician, businessman and former army lieutenant general who is currently appointed as the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia.

He is the son of Sumitro Djojohadikusumo, who was an Indonesian economist, and Dora Sigar.

1. Prabowo served in the Special Forces for quite a long time

Bersama Letnan Jenderal TNI (Purn.) H. Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo- Author; Danny Gaida Tera ELgar- Wikimedia

Prabowo graduated from the Indonesian Military Academy in 1970 and served in the Special Forces until his appointment as chief of the Strategic Reserve Command in 1998.

That very same year, unfortunately, he was dishonourably discharged from the military and subsequently banned from entering the United States because of alleged human rights violations.

In 1976, Prabowo served in the Indonesian National Army Special Force Kopassus and was assigned as the commander of Group 1 Komando Pasukan Sandhi Yudha, which was one of the Indonesian Army’s Nanggala commando units in East Timor, the former Portuguese territory that Indonesia had invaded the previous year.

Prabowo, who was 26 years old at the time, was the youngest Nanggala commander. He led the mission to capture the vice president of Fretilin, who was the first Prime Minister of East Timor, Nicolau dos Reis Lobato.

2. Established the Great Indonesia Movement Party

Great Indonesia Movement Party Logo- Author; Danny Gaida Tera ELgar- Wikimedia

In early 2008, Prabowo’s inner circle, which included Fadli Zon, established the Great Indonesia Movement Party.

Fadli is an Indonesian politician, who is presently serving as a member of the People’s Representative Council.

3. He has run for president 3 times

Prabowo Subianto- Author; Ministry of Information- Wikimedia

In the 2009 presidential election, Prabowo ran unsuccessfully for the vice-presidency as Megawati Sukarnoputri’s running mate.

He contested in the 2014 presidential election and was defeated by Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo, which he initially disputed.

He made another unsuccessful run for the presidency in 2019 with Sandiaga Uno as his running mate.

He had the support of Gerindra, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the National Mandate Party (PAN), the Democratic Party and Berkarya Party. His refusal to accept the result saw his followers stage protests that sparked deadly riots in Jakarta.

On 10 October 2021, Gerindra Party announced that Prabowo will contest the 2024 Indonesian presidential election and this will be his third bid for the presidency.

On 1st  June 2022 however, he made a statement and stated that he intended to give an opportunity to other politicians for the presidency and potentially wanted to move on from his presidency bid.

Despite that statement, his party still support him as the party currently only has one figure for the presidential candidate and his replacement figure is unlikely.

So on 12th August 2022, Prabowo announced that he accepted Gerindra Party’s nomination to contest the 2024 Indonesia presidential election.

4. Subianto has a successful business career

Business section of a newspaper- Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

After being discharged from the military, Prabowo joined his brother, Hashim Djojohadikusumo’s business.

Here, he purchased Kiani Kertas, which is a paper pulp and plantation company based in Mangkajang, East Kalimantan. Prior to Prabowo’s purchase, Kiani was owned by Bob Hasan, a businessman close to former President Suharto.

Today, Prabowo’s Nusantara Group controls 27 companies in Indonesia and abroad. Prabowo’s companies include Nusantara Energy (oil and natural gas, coal), Tidar Kerinci Agung (palm oil plantations) and Jaladri Nusantara (fishery industry).

Prabowo rebranded Kiani Kertas to Kertas Nusantara.  It controls an area of 3,400 hectares used for paper mills, employee housing, private schools, and various company facilities.

Kiani has so far been awarded ISO 900–2005 status as one of the highest quality management companies.

It is reported that Kiani Kertas has been experiencing financial difficulties, and in early 2014, workers took to the streets to demand their wages which had not been paid in five months

5. Was appointed president of the Indonesian Farmers’ Association

A farm- Photo by Jed Owen on Unsplash

The Indonesian Farmers’ Association was established in 1973 in order to advocate for the farmers’ rights.

In 2004, Prabowo was elected President of this body and in 2010, he was again reappointed for a second term.

6. Prabowo was also elected president of the Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association

A market trader- Photo by D A V I D S O N L U N A on Unsplash

Indonesian Traditional Market Traders Association (APPSI) is a non-profit organisation that advocates for the welfare of traders in Indonesia’s traditional markets.  In 2008, Prabowo was elected its president.

7. He was again elected president of one of Indonesia’s traditional martial arts bodies

Martial Arts- Photo by Thao Le Hoang on Unsplash

A body by the name of Indonesian Pencak Silat Association (IPSI), which is one of Indonesia’s traditional martial arts bodies, elected Prabowo as its president in 2004. Then in 2012, he was re-elected for a third consecutive term.

IPSI oversees the regulation of the sport in Indonesia, develops athletes, and organises tournaments.

8. In his capacity as the Minister of Defence, Prabowo Subianto is greatly respected

Inauguration of Prabowo Subianto as Minister of Defense- Author; Government of Indonesia- Wikimedia

Shortly after his inauguration, Prabowo began advocating for a “total people’s war” doctrine for Indonesia’s national defense

Prabowo is planning to massively expand Indonesia’s domestic ability to manufacture ammunition, as Indonesia’s capacity to manufacture is only 450 million ammunition per year, despite a demand at one billion ammunition annually.

It is reported that Prabowo is looking to strengthen Indonesia’s military by acquiring newer fighter aircraft such as General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon from the United States and Dassault Rafale from France.

9. He has received a number of national honours

Medals- Photo by Tbel Abuseridze on Unsplash

As an Indonesian Army officer, Prabowo has received a number of awards and decorations at the national honour category.

These include:

Army Meritorious Service Star, 2nd Class, Grand Meritorious Military Order Star, 3rd Class,  Army Meritorious Service Star, 3rd Class,  Military Long Service Medal, (served for 24 Years),  Military Operation Service Medal in Aceh,  Military Instructor Service Medal,  Military Operation Service Medal IX Raksaka Dharma,  Timor Military Campaign Medal and   Role Model Medal.

10. Prabowo once led an operation to rescue abducted researchers

Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers prepare to go out on a rescue mission in the Sangin district, Helmand province, Afghanistan- Author; Sgt Bryan Peterson- Wikimedia

In 1996, Prabowo led an operation that was known asMapenduma  Operation in the mountainous terrain of Papua, Indonesia.

The major goal of this operation was to rescue  11 scientific researchers, who had been taken hostage by the Free Papua Movement.

The group abducted comprised five Indonesians, four Britons, one Dutchman and his pregnant German wife.