Poki: For Mom's service of giving me food every day... and Dad's service of giving me pocket money... and the cat's service of eh... what yeah? I give you a medal of gratitude (don't be shy).

Mother: But we're family...

Father: A pebble in the shoe?

President Prabowo Subianto bestowed civilian honours and awards upon more than 140 figures last week in a presentation ceremony that not only tarnished and devalued state honours but also highlighted the disconnect between the political elite and ordinary Indonesians.

The awarding of medals is intended to show the state's recognition of an individual's extraordinary services and sacrifices to the nation, and only a very few people meeting that specific qualification are eligible.

But most of those honoured on August 25 came from Prabowo's inner circle – people who helped him win the presidency. Many have also been linked to human rights abuses, corruption cases and moral violations such as plagiarism.

One of the state honours for example went to Minister of Culture Fadli Zon – a close confidant of Prabowo – who is currently trying to rewrite national history by erasing the mass rapes of Chinese women during the May 1998 tragedy.

Other honours went to ministers, deputy ministers and government agency head who have only been in the job for 10 months and are yet to prove their contributions to the state, let alone successfully implement the president's programs.

So for many it was clear that awards instead signified the individual's loyalty to the president rather than any contribution that benefits the integrity, continuity and glory of the nation and state.

It also represented a continuation of similar practices by the President's predecessors who have taken advantage of their prerogative to reward their wives, children, cronies and loyalists.

Last year as Defence Minister, Prabowo received the Mahaputera Adipradana medal from then-president Joko "Jokowi" Widodo, in addition to the honorary rank of four-star general. Earlier this year, Prabowo awarded honorary four-star ranks to several aides and friends.

Not surprisingly there was widespread public rejection of the honours from academics, intellectuals and civil society groups, who questioned the integrity and contributions of the recipients and the lack transparency and public participation in choosing them.

And the fact that the award presentation ceremony took place as students were rallying outside the House of Representatives (DPR) to air their grievances against Prabowo and very officials who received the awards, clearly shows on which side Prabowo stands.

[Based on a Jakarta Post editorial titled "Devaluing state honors".]

Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/opinion/2025/09/02/devaluing-state-honors.html