Indonesia considers bug sweeps, tighter controls on spy tools after wiretap scandal
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The scandal has put the spotlight on growing political tension in Indonesia and a rift between President Prabowo Subianto and the influential two-term predecessor who once backed him, Joko Widodo.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Indonesia will tighten controls on state spy tools and may sweep the presidential palace after illegal wiretaps on President Prabowo and senior officials.
- Four senior police officers have been arrested, including a former national police chief. The government says the case may amount to treason, and no charges have been filed yet.
- The scandal adds pressure on Prabowo as he faces public anger, weak investor confidence, and rising tension with former president Joko Widodo.
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JAKARTA – Indonesia will tighten controls on state surveillance equipment and consider sweeps of its presidential palace for bugging devices, a minister said on Nov 9, following last week’s discovery of illegal wiretaps on the President, top officials and more.
The wiretapping scandal led to the arrest of four senior police officers accused of unauthorised monitoring of phones, among them a former national police chief who had recently been appointed President Prabowo Subianto’s chief of staff.
The government had said that the wiretapping scandal pointed to treason. An investigation is under way and no formal charges have yet been announced.
Asked if the authorities would sweep the presidential palace for covert electronic devices, Senior Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra said “it is something we will consider as an anticipation measure”.
“The government is also taking steps to ensure that, in the future, the wiretapping equipment held by certain agencies is not misused,” he told reporters.
The scandal comes at a time when Prabowo faces growing public pressure over his costly social programmes and his administration battles to restore investor confidence in South-east Asia’s biggest economy after a series of setbacks that have caused havoc for its stock market and currency in 2026.
It has also put the spotlight on growing political tension in Indonesia and a rift between Prabowo and the influential two-term predecessor who once backed him, Joko Widodo.
The authorities have yet to reveal the full extent of the illegal wiretapping, which they say started after Prabowo took office in late 2024.
Among those monitored were business people, journalists, activists and political figures, whose identities have not been disclosed. It is not clear how many people were targeted.
Former police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who is no relation to the President, is widely seen as a loyalist of Widodo. Listyo was reassigned recently to the post of presidential chief of staff, but then sacked last week following his arrest over the alleged wiretapping.
Prabowo Subianto held a meeting on Nov 8 with 10 former police chiefs that included discussion on the wiretapping scandal, Deputy House Speaker Sufmi Dasco Ahmad separately told reporters.
Minister Yusril said that the investigation came after the national police received a tip, which its new chief investigated, then reported to Prabowo.
“Following this report, an investigation was launched, and it has become apparent where the wiretapping devices were located,” Yusril said, without elaborating. REUTERS