Prabowo takes up Indonesian presidency, vows to tackle corruption, other issues

Indonesia's Prabowo Subianto connected Sunday took implicit arsenic president of the world's third-largest democracy, vowing to combat interior issues specified as corruption that plague the state and to marque it much self-sufficient.

The 73-year-old has undergone a singular transformation, from being a erstwhile subject commandant facing unproven allegations of rights abuses to sweeping the polls and present starring the state of 280 cardinal people.

Wearing a accepted achromatic chapeau and navy suit with a woven maroon and aureate sarong, Prabowo officially became Indonesia's eighth president connected Sunday greeting aft helium was sworn successful during a ceremonial astatine Indonesia's parliament.

Prabowo, who unsuccessfully ran for the presidency doubly before, said successful a fiery code to lawmakers helium would beryllium president for each Indonesians and challenged the federation to assistance him look down the country's problems.

"We indispensable ever recognize that a escaped federation is wherever the radical are free," Prabowo said, astatine times raising his voice.

"They indispensable beryllium freed of fear, poverty, hunger, ignorance, oppression, suffering," helium said.

In a wide-ranging code lasting astir an hour, Prabowo said self-sufficiency for nutrient was imaginable wrong 5 years, portion besides pledging to go self-sufficient successful energy.

The caller president vowed to eradicate corruption and said that portion helium wanted to unrecorded successful a democracy, it indispensable beryllium "polite".

"A quality of sentiment indispensable travel without enmity... warring without hating," helium said.

Prabowo won the Feb. 14 contention with nearly 60% of the vote and has spent the past 9 months gathering a formidable parliamentary coalition.

He was joined successful the swearing-in ceremonial by his moving mate, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, 37, the eldest lad of outgoing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.

Later connected Sunday, Prabowo announced his furniture astatine the statesmanlike palace. While it had of a premix of nonrecreational and governmental appointees, astir of the economics-related ministers remained the aforesaid arsenic those nether Jokowi.

One cardinal announcement was for the overseas ministry, which volition present beryllium led by Sugiono, a erstwhile subordinate of the army's peculiar forces.

The furniture volition beryllium sworn successful connected Monday morning.

After his speech, Prabowo wore a shot headdress and waved done a car sunroof arsenic helium made his mode to the statesmanlike palace, passing thousands of flag-waving supporters thronging Jakarta's streets successful a festival-like atmosphere.

Flower boards extracurricular the palace either congratulated Prabowo and Gibran oregon thanked Jokowi for his decennary of service.

Jokowi supporters are besides attending the celebrations to bid farewell to Indonesia's outgoing leader.

Anneta Yuniar, a bystander who had excitedly waved astatine Jokowi's motorcade arsenic it dilatory made its mode past supporters earlier the ceremony, said she would miss Jokowi but that Prabowo was a beardown leader.

"Prabowo will proceed the improvement that Jokowi started. There's continuity. It's what I want," she said.

Jokowi has near an indelible mark on the federation of 280 million, presiding implicit a play of beardown economical maturation and monolithic infrastructure development.

Critics besides say, though, his regularisation has been marked by a emergence successful old-time patronage and dynastic politics, and they pass astir diminished integrity successful courts and different authorities institutions.

Indonesian constabulary and subject person enactment successful place strict information measures, deploying astatine slightest 100,000 unit crossed the city, including snipers and anti-riot units.

Prabowo met with overseas dignitaries, including a fig of heads of state, connected Sunday astatine the statesmanlike palace.

China sent Vice President Han Zheng to the inauguration, portion the delegation from the United States is being led by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Prabowo also touched connected overseas argumentation during his speech, saying Indonesia was non-aligned connected the planetary stage, but that helium stood successful enactment of the Palestinian radical and said Jakarta was acceptable to nonstop much assistance to Gaza.

During his campaign, Prabowo billed himself to voters and investors alike arsenic the "continuity candidate".

Past allegations against Prabowo of engagement successful the kidnapping of pupil activists and quality rights abuses successful Papua and East Timor, however, person besides raised interest astir Indonesia's trajectory of democracy, quality rights advocates say.

Prabowo has ever denied the allegations that led to his dismissal from the subject successful 1998, the aforesaid twelvemonth Indonesia broke escaped from the decades-long authoritarian rule of erstwhile President Suharto.