By Ananda Teresia
JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia's defence ministry issued a full-page advertisement in the country's largest newspaper on Monday, detailing and defending non-defence programmes being run by the military, amid criticism of its wider role under President Prabowo Subianto.
Since being elected last year, Prabowo has expanded the number of government posts for military personnel and used the force to deliver his programme. That has sparked worries among students and activists that the world's third-largest democracy could go back to the military-dominated New Order era of authoritarian leader Suharto.
Titled "No Longer Just Military: Indonesian-style People's Defense", the advertisement, published in Kompas, says the ministry's policies have expanded and transformed "into people's defence based on prosperity and cross-sector collaboration".
INDONESIAN MILITARY WORKING IN NUTRITION, FARMING AND HEALTH
Prabowo has deployed the military for various tasks, from implementing free school lunches, manufacturing medicines, delivering agriculture projects, and seizing palm oil plantations.
The advertisement said the ministry was helping to build national resilience, mentioning 10 programmes including free meals, the establishment of 100 new battalions assigned to tasks in the health and agriculture sectors, and military labs manufacturing medicine.
The advertisement said the ministry had trained and equipped thousands of young graduates with "military approaches" who had gone on to head kitchens providing a free meals programme across Indonesia.
The ministry also said the number of battalions active in the health and agriculture sectors was expected to reach 500 in five years, and that they aimed to "safeguard government strategic programmes".
Made Supriatma, Visiting Fellow at Singapore-based think-tank ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, said the policies were bringing more civilian activities under the control of the military.
"They are just trying to sell it to the public - but whether the public will be OK or not is not relevant because they are already doing it anyway," he said.
A defence spokesperson said the advertisement was intended to educate people on what the military had done.
"There are still many people who perceive what the military has done in the context of militarisation. That is why we try to explain that these are part of our defence system as mandated by our constitution," he said.
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia; Editing by Gibran Peshimam, Lincoln Feast and Kevin Liffey)
