Indonesian wiretapping scandal exposes widening Prabowo-Jokowi rift

An Indonesian police inquiry into the wiretapping of President Prabowo Subianto’s phone was a matter for law enforcement, the country’s police chief said on Thursday, as the scandal exposed the deepening cracks between Prabowo and his former backer and predecessor, Joko Widodo.

“We assure you that this is ‌purely law enforcement and has nothing to do with rivalries or anything else,” police chief Suyudi Ario Seto told reporters without elaborating, adding that the arrests must serve as a lesson for the police.

Prabowo took office in 2024 after winning the election in a landslide as the continuity candidate for Widodo, known also as Jokowi, whose son Gibran Rakabuming Raka was also elected as Prabowo’s vice-president.