Is it true that Lt. Col. Teddy's position as Cabinet Secretary violates the TNI Law?

A member of Commission I of the House of Representatives from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle faction, Tubagus Hasanuddin, issued a statement that drew attention from various parties. He stated that the placement of an active military officer, Lieutenant Colonel Teddy Indra Wijaya, in the position of Cabinet Secretary violates Law Number 34 of 2004 concerning the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI). His reasoning is that the position of Cabinet Secretary is not among the roles that can be filled by active TNI personnel according to the TNI Law. Is this true?

After a meeting discussing the revision of the TNI Law at the Parliamentary Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday (12/3/2025), Hasanuddin stated that Teddy Indra must resign from the TNI if he wishes to retain his position as Cabinet Secretary (Seskab). This is particularly in light of the statement by TNI Commander General Agus Subiyanto, who emphasized that active-duty soldiers must resign from the TNI if entrusted with a civilian position. Moreover, this applies especially if the civilian position in question is not among the ten ministries or institutions permitted to be filled by active-duty soldiers as stipulated in the TNI Law.

According to Hasanuddin, the Cabinet Secretary is not included in the civilian positions that may be filled by soldiers according to the TNI Law.

If we refer to Article 47, paragraph 2 of the TNI Law, it indeed does not mention the position of Cabinet Secretary as one that can be filled by active military personnel.

Civil positions that can be filled by active military personnel, as stated in the Military Law, are limited to ten ministries/agencies. These include positions in the Office of the Coordinator for Political and Security Affairs, National Defense, Presidential Military Secretariat, National Intelligence, State Cryptography, National Resilience Institute, National Defense Council, National Search and Rescue, National Narcotics, and the Supreme Court.

Not limited to addressing the issue, he also briefly reflected on October 2024, prior to Teddy being appointed by President Prabowo Subianto as Cabinet Secretary. He revealed that he was once asked for his opinion by the Palace regarding the plan to appoint Teddy as Cabinet Secretary, who at that time still held the rank of Major, without having to resign from the military.

"At that time, I suggested that if they wanted to maintain Major Teddy's military status, his position should ideally be placed in the Military Secretariat. There are several positions there, such as Head of the General Bureau, Head of the Rank Insignia Bureau, and Head of the Decorations and Honors Bureau. If desired, just add one more position as Head of the Cabinet Secretariat Bureau under the Military Secretariat. This is in accordance with Article 47 of the TNI Law," said Hasanuddin in Jakarta, Wednesday (12/3/2025).

However, on October 21, 2024, the Head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, stated that the Cabinet Secretary is under the Ministry of State Secretariat, not under the Military Secretariat. This statement was also reinforced by the Head of the Army Information Service, Brigadier General Wahyu Yudhayana. Therefore, according to Hasanuddin, Teddy must step down from his current position as Cabinet Secretary. The reason is that active military personnel are only allowed to hold civilian positions in 10 ministries or agencies.

Is that true?

Flashback to October 2024 when Teddy was appointed as Cabinet Secretary, there was indeed a polemic regarding the appointment. The reason is, the position of Cabinet Secretary is not included in the positions that can be filled by active soldiers according to the TNI Law.

So, automatically if Teddy wants to be trusted to hold the position that in the era of the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo was at the ministerial level, he must first resign from the TNI. However, later, as a solution, the regulation was changed to open the way for Teddy to continue to serve as Cabinet Secretary without having to leave the TNI.

The position of Cabinet Secretary, which was originally at the ministerial level, was changed to be included in the organizational structure of the Ministry of State Secretariat. Not only that, the position of Cabinet Secretary is positioned under the President's Military Secretary. With this placement, Teddy can automatically continue to serve as Cabinet Secretary without having to leave the TNI. This is because the TNI Law allows the position in the President's Military Secretary office to be filled by active soldiers.

The position of Cabinet Secretary in the President's Military Secretary is stated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 148 of 2024 concerning the Ministry of State Secretariat. Article 48 states that the President's Military Secretariat consists of a maximum of four bureaus and the Cabinet Secretary.

What if seen in the draft of the proposed revision of the TNI Law submitted by the government? Can Teddy still serve as Cabinet Secretary without having to leave the TNI?

Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin after a meeting discussing the revision of the TNI Law with Commission I of the DPR, at the Parliament Complex, Jakarta, Tuesday (11/3/2025), said that in the Problem Inventory List (DIM) of the TNI Bill prepared by the government, there are a total of five new ministries/institutions that can be filled by active soldiers, so that if approved, there will be 15 ministries/institutions whose positions can be filled by active soldiers.

He emphasized that any soldier who later fills a position in the 15 agencies, does not need to leave the TNI. On the contrary, if they occupy a civilian position outside the 15 agencies, the soldier must resign. "(Cabinet Secretary Teddy) Does it fall into that category? If it is outside the category (15 agencies) then it is affected. Retire first then continue," he said.

If viewed in the DIM of the TNI Bill, the five new ministries/institutions that can be filled with active soldiers are the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, the National Disaster Management Agency, the National Counterterrorism Agency, the Maritime Security Agency, and the Attorney General's Office. The 10 ministries/institutions that can be filled with active soldiers as stated in the TNI Law that is currently still in effect, have not changed.

Researcher of the Indonesian Defense and Strategic Studies Institute, Beni Sukadis, said, if you look at the Presidential Decree of the Ministry of State Secretariat, the position of Cabinet Secretary can indeed be filled by active soldiers. The position will still be able to be filled by active soldiers if the DIM of the TNI Bill is approved later.

In other words, Teddy can still serve as Cabinet Secretary without having to leave the TNI even though the new TNI Law will come into effect. However, according to him, the problem does not stop there.

In the long term, he warned, active military who occupy civilian positions or positions outside the military structure will affect the professionalism and capabilities of military personnel as a whole. The problem of professionalism could even become stronger in the TNI after Teddy received a promotion from Major to Lieutenant Colonel recently.

"The extraordinary promotion has caused unrest among other officers who are actually more senior but have the same or lower rank," he added.

It is also important to remember that the placement of active military personnel in civilian positions also has a negative impact on civilians who have experience, competence and expertise in government/bureaucratic administration issues. Their career path is hampered because the positions they are aiming for are filled by people from outside the bureaucracy, in this case from the TNI.

"So people who have the qualifications and are able to hold office, but are not empowered, can certainly give rise to social dissatisfaction with the government," he added.