Indonesia’s challenger Prabowo Subianto a politician of ‘many contradictions’, but may still disrupt President Joko Widodo’s reign

His anti-foreigner rhetoric faced questions when he flew out of Jakarta this week on a private jet with two Russian parliamentary officials

And his rejection of the election results only seems to go so far, analysts say

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Indonesia’s failed presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto at a rally before the April election. Photo: EPA

Published: 10:00am, 30 May 2019Updated: 1:54pm, 12 Dec 2019

Indonesia’s losing presidential challenger Prabowo Subianto has developed a reputation among some analysts as a politician with many contradictions.

This week he raised eyebrows when on Tuesday he flew out of Jakarta on his private jet to Dubai with two Russians, one American and one German in his entourage.

The flight manifest caused many to question the foreigners’ presence and whether Prabowo was going back on his well-trodden anti-foreigner rhetoric in Indonesia, especially because the Russians – Anzhelika Butaeva and Mikhail Davydov – were from the Russian Parliament Secretariat.

“Pak Prabowo spent most of his early years in Europe as a student and he has many good friends in the USA, as well as in the world of business, politics and the military,” reasoned Irawan Ronodipuro, director of foreign relations for Prabowo’s Greater Indonesia Movement Party (Gerindra).

“Hence the American, German and Russian friends [business associates and advisers] he brought along with him on this trip is nothing out of the ordinary for him.”

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