President Prabowo Subianto attends the 2026 Officer Commissioning Ceremony for newly commissioned TNI and Polri officers at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta. (Indonesian National Police)
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has commissioned 1,177 new officers from the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), using the occasion to call for a new generation of security personnel equipped to respond to artificial intelligence (AI), cyber threats and other emerging security challenges.
Speaking during the 2026 Officer Commissioning Ceremony (Prasetya Perwira) at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on July 22, President Prabowo said the nature of national security was evolving beyond conventional military threats. He warned that future challenges increasingly include cyber attacks, information warfare, narcotics trafficking, smuggling, transnational crime and attempts to undermine national resilience.
Against this backdrop, President Prabowo urged the newly commissioned officers to develop expertise in science and technology, AI, cyber infrastructure, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and foreign languages, saying future military and police leaders must combine discipline and leadership with technological competence to safeguard Indonesia.
“Today is not merely a ceremony, nor is it the finish line. Today is the start of your service to the nation and the state,” President Prabowo said. “You have sworn an oath to give your mind, body and, if necessary, your life for the Indonesian people.”
He reminded the officers that their first rank represented a mandate entrusted to them by the Indonesian people and that their primary allegiance must remain with Pancasila (the nation’s ideology), the 1945 Constitution, the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI) and the nation.
President Prabowo’s remarks come as Indonesian authorities have increasingly highlighted the security implications of emerging digital technologies. In June, Vice Minister of Communication and Digital Affairs Nezar Patria warned that the misuse of AI-generated deepfake technology posed growing risks to cybersecurity and digital fraud. He said advances in AI have enabled increasingly convincing manipulated videos, images and voices, making them more difficult to distinguish from authentic content and increasing the need for stronger governance, transparency and accountability in AI development.
During the ceremony, President Prabowo also presented the rank insignia to four recipients of the Adhi Makayasa award, recognising the top graduates from Indonesia’s military and police academies.
As Indonesia accelerates its digital transformation, it is placing greater emphasis on preparing its military and police for a security environment in which digital and technological threats are becoming increasingly significant. Rather than focusing solely on conventional defence, the government is broadening its approach to include cyber security, information integrity and emerging technologies as key components of national resilience. However, balancing the adoption of these technologies with measures to mitigate risks such as cybercrime, digital fraud and AI-enabled disinformation will remain an important challenge.
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