Prabowo wiretap spills top Indonesia rivalry into public

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto delivers his remarks while leading a plenary cabinet meeting at the Presidential Palace complex in Jakarta on Oct. 21. | AFP-JIJI

Nov 6, 2026

The mobilization of thousands of military personnel to Jakarta this week has intensified speculation about a widening rift between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and his predecessor, Joko Widodo, while exposing long-running tensions between the country’s military and police.

The unusual development unfolded alongside Tuesday’s arrest of a Widodo-appointed former national police chief on suspicion that he and other senior officers had illegally wiretapped Prabowo, conduct the president’s administration said could amount to treason or an attempt to overthrow the government.

Despite that dramatic claim, there was no indication through Friday morning of an imminent security threat in the capital. Business activity appeared normal, and there was little evidence of a heavy military presence downtown. The stock market gained 2.2% on Thursday, then pared some of those gains Friday morning amid regional losses following a Wall Street selloff. The rupiah stood at 18,132 per dollar in early Friday trading, little changed from a week earlier.

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