Exclusive: The Ex-General Who Plans To Make the Largest Muslim Nation a World Power

Indonesian Defense Minister and presidential front-runner Prabowo Subianto has revealed his plan to assert his nation's role on the world stage and tackle global conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and the Asia-Pacific region in an exclusive wide-ranging interview with Newsweek.

Just weeks remain until Indonesia holds its national vote on February 14 and Prabowo enjoys a strong lead against his two top rivals, former Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan and ex-Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo. As leader of the nationalist Great Indonesia Movement, known as the Gerindra Party, Prabowo has particularly emphasized a commitment to building up defense and security, though he told Newsweek that he plans to expand far more than the military if chosen as the next head of his fast-developing nation, which has massive geopolitical potential.

Although he portrays himself as a harbinger for the future of his country's nearly 280 million people, the world's largest Muslim population, Prabowo is not without controversy. The former special forces commander has distanced himself from his loyal service under the polarizing legacy of his then-father-in-law, late longtime ruler Suharto, who was deposed amid popular unrest in 1998 after more than three decades in power.

But while he was once exiled from Indonesia and banned from the United States, Prabowo has won the approval of major stakeholders at home and abroad. He now brands himself as the man who will usher in a new era for famously non-aligned Indonesia during a time of deep crises rocking the international order and simmering tensions between the U.S. and China that threaten to destabilize his own region.

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Newsweek: As minister of defense and front-runner in the current presidential race, you have put an emphasis on boosting security and maintaining stronger international ties. How would you describe your electoral platform and why voters living in one of the world's largest nations should choose you as their next head of state?

Prabowo: Yes, boosting security is one of the key points of my platform. I have already shown my commitment to a well-managed and well-equipped military and security forces as Minister of Defense. Of course, this will continue. Indeed, investment in the capacities and capabilities and modernization of our armed forces and our security forces will increase.

But I proscribe to a much broader approach to security than investment in military and defense. Of course, we need a powerful military ready and able to defend every square inch of our territory and face the security challenges of our time. But is that enough if we cannot guarantee self-reliance in food, energy, water? I don't think so.

Is that enough? Is that sustainable if we do not expand our industrial base, if we do not invest in our people, in lifting them out of poverty, in providing education and health and opportunities, if we do not promote the cohesion of our society by fostering harmony between all ethnic and religious groups?

Is that enough if Indonesia does not become more assertive in its foreign policy, bilaterally or multilaterally through its engagement in the U.N., OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation], ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations], etc., and more responsive to shaping the geopolitical realities of our region?

My vision on security is much broader and much more ambitious than investing in the army and security forces. I believe that our path to a truly secure and powerful Indonesia passes through the development of our country and the welfare of our people and the strength of our society.

I believe the people can make the distinction between my platform and the platforms of my rivals in this regard. That is why every opinion poll is showing popular support for our ticket growing week after week as we approach the elections.

Indonesian people know that I am a man of my word. They know that I do what I say because they have had the opportunity to see that in my work as minister of defense. They know that I will fight tooth and nail to implement every policy proposal and every initiative in this platform that will make them more secure, will provide them with more health, education, and jobs, will guarantee a better future for them and for their children. That is why they will vote for me.

Indonesia's election comes at a time when more nations across the Global South are seeking to raise their voices and assert themselves in an increasingly multi-polar world. Can and should Indonesia play a greater role in international affairs in your view?

Prabowo: Indonesia, as you may know, is one of the co-founders of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961. So, advocating in favor of the Global South and developing nations, advocating for a world system that does not favor the developed North at the expense of the Global South, is in the DNA of our foreign policy.

We have always been active in this regard, but what has changed is that as Indonesia has developed, as its economy, its power, its importance, has grown, so has its role in international affairs expanded and become more important. For instance, in 2023 we were at the helm of ASEAN while in 2022 we presided over the Group of 20, during which we worked hard to advocate for the Global South.

It is only natural that as Indonesia develops, as it grows, it must assume the new responsibilities that come with its position as an emerging power. We have responsibilities towards our region, towards the world, but above all vis-à-vis the Global South that does need its champions because as we well know, in today's world, the Global South is often reduced to the role of the spectator to events and decisions that affect it, but which it cannot influence.

As president, I will work hard to consolidate Indonesia's role as a champion of the Global South. One of the key areas where I will focus our effort is the reform of the United Nations Security Council. However, as president, I will also work hard to expand Indonesia's role as an interlocutor between North and South. As you may know, one of the tenets of our foreign policy is change in the world through persistence, cooperation and dialogue and I intend to continue in this tradition.

At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June, you unveiled a plan for peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, though it received criticism from Kyiv and some Western officials. With the conflict having reached a virtual stalemate, can you elaborate on what this framework entails, how it can be enacted and why you believe it would work as the best path for resolving the conflict between these two nations and the suffering of the many nations across the Global South feeling the secondhand effects of the war?

Prabowo: The war in Ukraine, the paralysis of the Security Council, the fact that the Global South is suffering disproportionately from the effects of this war even though it has nothing to do with it, and can in no way change what is happening, these are all arguments that confirm the need for change in the world, the need for countries like Indonesia, and other countries in the Global South to play a more assertive role in shaping geopolitical events.

When I spoke about the need for a truce in Ukraine in the Shangri-La Dialogue, I did so for a number of reasons. I did so because I wanted to give voice to the concerns and suffering of developing countries. I did so because I wanted to make it clear that we too, countries like Indonesia, cannot be ignored on discussions that are affecting their people, their economy, their future.

But I also did so because, as a military man who has seen war and knows the tragedy of war from personal experience, I could see that there is no military solution in sight to this conflict. The stalemate on the ground has thus far proven me right. There is no military solution in sight without countless more lives being lost, countless more suffering in Ukraine and in countries of the Global South.

I believed and I still believe that it is up to the parties in the conflict to find a negotiated solution. It is up to the parties to decide what shape peace will have. That is not up to me. But in order to find that solution they must first cease killing each other and sit down and talk. They should sit down and talk for their sake and for the sake of the rest of the world.

Since you have declared your candidacy, another large-scale war has rocked the international community and that is the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip. As the world's largest Muslim nation, how does Indonesia view this very polarizing war, the role of the combatants and their supporters, as well as the rest of the international community?

Prabowo: What is happening in Gaza is a tragedy that must stop! More than 20,000 people have been killed, most of them innocent civilians, women and children. The whole Gaza Strip has been bombed and made unlivable. It is a dangerous illusion to think that this war will change anything for Israel. Through its killing and destruction, it is simply planting the seeds of hate for an entire generation of Palestinians. We know from history that as long as the occupation continues, as long as there is no Free Palestine, there will be no peace. Because the root cause of the conflict is the occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, so if you want peace this must be resolved immediately in accordance with the parameters that have been agreed upon by the U.N.

Under my Presidency, Indonesia will continue to support Palestine. We will continue to support it at the U.N., as an OIC member, in every forum and every way we can, until the conflict has been resolved once and for all.

Tensions brewing much closer to Indonesia in the Asia-Pacific region have also been a focus of global attention and security concerns. How important do you hold your country's relationships with the United States and China and their respective leaders? Would you consider boosting relations with one at the cost of the other and is there a risk of Indonesia, a core member of the Non-Aligned Movement, being caught up in the growing competition between them?

Prabowo: I am concerned of course. The whole world is concerned because when there are tensions between two powers like the USA and China the repercussions are felt everywhere. But our region has more reason to be concerned because the Asia-Pacific region is directly affected by these tensions. They are having an impact on our neighboring countries. They risk deteriorating security and stability for our region and gravely affecting our economies, our development. I hope that a way out of these tensions through dialogue and cooperation can be found.

Both the USA and China are very important partners to us. We have excellent relations with both. The USA is a country with which we have shared very good relations for decades. They are one of our most important partners in a broad range of sectors. China is also a very important partner, especially an economic partner, and a very influential country in our region. I will work to maintain these important partnerships.

But what I will not do as president is align Indonesia to one or the other. Indonesia is too big to be aligned to any other country. Indonesia can only be aligned to Indonesia's best interest!

So, while I work to boost our development, our economy, our people's welfare, as I work to boost our security, modernize our defense capabilities so that we can guarantee every square inch of our territory, we will not become part of any alliances or any blocs in this tension or any other. I believe in the wisdom of ancient philosophers who teach us that 1,000 friends is too few, and one enemy is one too many. This will be my guiding principle in both domestic and international affairs.