(Hanoi = Yonhap News) Correspondent Park Jin-hyung = As the Indonesian government led by President Prabowo Subianto expands the scope of its investigation in relation to allegations of wiretapping against the president, attention is being paid to whether the knife of the investigation will turn towards former President Joko Widodo (Joko Widodo, in office from 2014 to 2024).
Accordingly, there is speculation that President Prabowo, who has recently suffered from a decline in approval ratings due to economic difficulties and forest fires, may use the investigation into his predecessor, former President Joko Widodo, with whom he joined hands in the last presidential election, as a way out of the crisis.
The day before, the Indonesian National Police announced that Slamet Uliandi, head of the Information Technology (IT) Department of the Criminal Investigation Department, was the fourth suspect in the presidential wiretapping case.
This suspect, who has served as the head of the Criminal Investigation Department's IT Department since 2021, is accused of authorizing the two other suspects, who were already arrested in the wiretapping case, when they attempted to wiretap President Prabowo and others, and when they deleted wiretapping records to destroy evidence of the crime early last month.
However, the police added that the suspect was not detained because he suffered a stroke and is currently recovering.
Previously, the police arrested and are investigating President Listyo Sigit Prabowo's former chief of staff and two high-ranking police officers on charges of illegal wiretapping and unauthorized access to electronic systems.
Chief of Staff Ristillo and others are accused of having their subordinates wiretap the phone calls of President Prabowo and influential figures, including politicians, businessmen, journalists, and representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Prabowo's administration is concentrating on establishing a dedicated investigation team to investigate the motive and background to their crimes, saying that their crimes could amount to treason or an attempt to overthrow the government.
Chief of Staff Listillo is considered one of Joko Widodo's closest associates, having served as the police chief for five years from 2021 when former President Joko Widodo was in power.
Therefore, speculation is spreading that the investigation into this case could lead to the breakdown of the relationship between President Prabowo and former President Joko Widodo.
Yanuar Nugroho, a visiting senior researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said that Chief Secretary Ristillo was known as a loyalist to former President Joko Widodo when he was the police chief. “President Prabowo needed a trustworthy police chief, but he was not that kind of person.”
In relation to this, former Deputy Commissioner of Police Ugroseno said in a podcast that investigative authorities should investigate everything behind the wiretapping incident, including whether there were direct orders from former President Joko Widodo.
He continued, "Investigators should not hesitate to investigate the former president if necessary," and emphasized, "Under the direction of the current police chief, the motive for the alleged wiretapping case must be fully uncovered."
Meanwhile, it is known that the National Assembly is also considering an investigation into the qualifications of Vice President Gibran Raqqabooming Raqqa, the eldest son of former President Joko Widodo.
This is related to the suspicion that Vice President Gibran, who attended an Australian high school, did not properly graduate and was therefore ineligible to run for vice president in the 2024 presidential election.
In relation to this, the Indonesian Supreme Court recently ruled that documents acknowledging then-Vice President Gibran's high school education were invalid, but there has yet to be a clear court ruling or government decision regarding his qualifications for the vice-presidential position.
Hasto Kristianto, a senior official of the opposition Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the largest party in Indonesia's lower house of parliament, told Reuters that the recent wiretapping incident prompted parliament to begin discussions on exercising investigative powers against Vice President Gibran.
In addition, officials from the three political parties in President Prabowo's ruling coalition also reported that they were considering launching an investigation.
Burhanuddin Muttadi, a senior visiting researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told Reuters that this investigation "will ultimately lead to the impeachment of Gibran (Vice President)," and that the possibility of restoring relations between the former and incumbent presidents appears to be increasingly diminishing.
President Prabowo lost to former President Joko Widodo twice in the 2014 and 2019 presidential elections, but was elected with Jokowi's support in the 2024 presidential election with Vice President Gibran as his running mate.
Meanwhile, the authorities announced that of the 21,000 naval troops that the government deployed to the capital Jakarta on the 4th to strengthen security, 7,840 were deployed to the field and the remaining 13,140 were on standby.
Despite the mobilization of such a large number of troops, almost no military troops are visible in the city, and daily life continues as usual with no signs of an imminent security risk, Bloomberg News reported.
