Prabowo’s experience as defence minister ‘a great asset’

Reject fraudulent election: A protester shouting slogans during a rally against alleged fraud in the Feb 14 presidential election outside the General Election Commission’s office in Jakarta. — AP

On Nov 21, 2023, a week before starting his campaign to be Indonesia’s next president, Prabowo Subianto was in Singapore to receive the nation’s highest military award.

In a statement about the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) or Distinguished Service Order (Military) award, Singapore’s Ministry of Defence (Mindef) had highlighted how it was under Prabowo that the Defence Cooperation Agreement, an important document that strengthens the security relationship between the two countries, was ratified.