Prabowo Takes Aim at Indonesia Tycoons Following Deadly Unrest
The former general is targeting billionaires, sidelining political rivals and adding pressure on the central bank in his bid to reshape Indonesia’s economy
Protesters try to block police advancing with shields during a demonstration in front of the House of Representatives parliament building in Jakarta on Aug. 25.
Photographer: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images
As deadly riots spread across Indonesia last month, President Prabowo Subianto’s top advisers were split: One group wanted him to declare martial law and hit back hard at protesters, while another urged restraint.
In what turned out to be a close call, the former general decided to avoid using the military to quell the unrest, according to people familiar with the president’s thinking, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations. But, they said, the episode reinforced his view that bolder action was necessary to rein in Indonesia’s tycoons, sideline political rivals and address persistent inequality in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.