A lot of people are asking: What would actually happen if President Prabowo declared martial law in Indonesia because of the ongoing unrest?
First, his authority would grow dramatically. Under martial law, institutions like the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and even the DPR would lose much of their ability to check or oversee the president’s actions.
Second, Prabowo’s main focus would shift to national security. Matters in the DPR — including public demands and controversial cases — would be put on hold while stability took priority.
Third, if protests stopped, DPR factions would likely close ranks around the president. That unity would mean that the scandals, mistakes, and even crimes of lawmakers and officials might temporarily fade from public attention until Prabowo decided what to do once martial law ended.
In short, martial law would expand Prabowo’s power in the name of security — and that could benefit not only his allies but even some in the opposition. In fact, opposition figures might find themselves seeking reconciliation or political forgiveness in whatever new order emerges afterward.
But here’s the bigger question: what if, during martial law, President Prabowo were to die — for whatever reason? Constitutionally, Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka should step in and assume the presidency.
The complication is that, under martial law, the TNI Commander holds the real authority. That means Gibran’s rise to the presidency could depend on an emergency decision led by the military, weighing whether handing power to such a young leader would truly serve national security.
At the end of the day, as citizens, our role is to support peace and order alongside state institutions — because the survival of the nation depends on it.
