(Bloomberg) -- Indonesia’s new cabinet has started a military-style retreat as President Prabowo Subianto, a former general, aims to drill his leadership team with discipline and teamwork as they plan for the first 100 days of his term.
Dozens of ministers, dressed in full camouflage uniforms, got up before sunrise for exercise and drills at a military academy in Magelang, Central Java, a six-hour drive from the capital Jakarta, according to their Instagram posts and press material. It’s part of a multi-day retreat where they’ll also be sleeping in luxury tents and attending briefings on current issues.
“The core of all endeavors is discipline,” Prabowo told his cabinet during the drill, according to a statement. “Second is loyalty. Loyalty to our nation: Indonesia.”
This approach speaks to the leadership style of Prabowo, who himself trained and graduated from the military academy in Magelang back in the 1970s. In his first few speeches as president, he’s employed a strongman rhetoric to emphasize obedience and cohesiveness especially given his much-bigger cabinet.
It also marks a shift from the cuddly, cat-loving grandpa image that he created to woo younger voters in the February presidential election.
The cabinet flew in using a Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft on Thursday afternoon, based on an Instagram post shared by Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra.
During the retreat, cabinet members will be asked to present their priority programs and policies for Prabowo’s five-year term, said Minister of Culture Fadli Zon.
“This activity in Magelang is to galvanize the ministers,” the president’s communications chief Hasan Nasbi said. “But this is not militarism. This is for togetherness.”
--With assistance from Grace Sihombing.
(Updates with description of cabinet’s activities on first day)
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