Eyes on the Road

American tech giant Apple is planning to build a $1 billion tech hub and smartphone-manufacturing plant in Indonesia. That announcement came after newly elected President Prabowo Subianto banned sales of the iPhone 16, saying that Apple was flouting Indonesian laws requiring them to use more Indonesian-produced components in their products.

As the Asia Times reported, Apple initially responded with an offer to build a $10 million factory, then raised the offer to $100 million and included research and development and other facilities. But Prabowo rejected those offers. Government officials announced the planned investment, even as Apple did not confirm the report, noted Reuters.

The president’s tough stance might reflect his goal of making Indonesia, a massive archipelago in Southeast Asia that is also the world’s largest Muslim country, a world power, as Newsweek wrote. It certainly is about extracting concessions from foreign tech giants as a way for Prabowo to demonstrate his effectiveness, and dispel the pall that World Politics Review described as hanging over his new presidency because of his past.

In the 1970s, as a young army lieutenant, Prabowo fought in East Timor, the Portuguese colony that Indonesia invaded. To prove that he killed a rebel leader named Nicolau Lobato, he cut off Lobato’s head and sent it to Indonesia’s then-President Suharto. Prabowo allegedly committed other atrocities and war crimes as he pursued his military career. He even allegedly helped carry out the massacre of 300 Timorese people, mostly civilians, in a settlement called Krakas.

Indonesians might not care about his past. Prabowo’s Onward Indonesia Coalition recently won in local elections, suggesting that his mandate is strong, even though opposition candidates with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle won control of Jakarta, the country’s capital and its largest city, according to Nikkei Asia.

Prabowo is allied with former President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who ran the country from 2014 to this October, when Prabowo took office, explained a University of Melbourne article. Jokowi is a former member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle but has since broken away to found his own political dynasty. Jokowi’s son currently serves as Indonesia’s vice president. His other son runs a youth-oriented political party. His son-in-law successfully ran for local office in the recent election, too.

The president appears to have consolidated support from Muslim organizations by offering them mining concessions to fund their activities, the New Mandala reported. But his upholding of Muslim laws has fueled illegal alcohol smuggling that has resulted in young Indonesians drinking toxic brews, added the South China Morning Post.

Still, some believe that the new leader will be a shot in the arm for Indonesia. “Prabowo Subianto harbors an ambition to elevate Indonesia’s global standing, an ambition that reflects his strategic vision for the country,” wrote commentator James Van Zorge in the Diplomat. “As Indonesia faces new challenges, Prabowo’s military, political, and global experiences offer a unique perspective that may guide the country toward progress, both domestically and internationally.”