The visit was a statement to Singaporeans and the international community alike, marking his comeback to Indonesian politics and, more importantly, reinforcing his intention to run for president in 2014.

In his public lecture entitled ‘Indonesia Facing The Future: Challenges for the Next 20 Years’, Prabowo explored challenges facing Indonesia. These included resource scarcity and the need to move toward alternative energy; population growth and its impacts on Indonesian society; governance-system problems, as Indonesia has been trapped in a vicious cycle of corruption; and economic inequality, as 45 per cent of Indonesia’s GDP is controlled by 0.17 per cent of the population.

Staying true to his military background, Prabowo asserted that he operates under the motto of ‘who dares wins’, and believes that it is time for Indonesia’s elites to be daring and to accept challenges. To respond to Indonesia’s challenges, Prabowo proposed what he called a ‘big push strategy’, involving focusing on one or two big sectors to ‘push’ the Indonesian economy forward. He proposed transforming Indonesia’s cleared land into productive land for the purpose of biofuel research. Such a project would ease unemployment, based on Prabowo’s conservative estimate of four jobs being created per hectare of productive land.

Prabowo has been polling well across Indonesia but there is still a lot to be done, especially if he is to win over swing voters, who make up 60 per cent of the voting population. The Indonesia Survey Circle, the Indonesia Survey Institute (LSI) and the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, Jakarta predict that Prabowo and former President Megawati Sukarnoputri will be the two candidates to move to a second round of elections. According to Indonesia Survey Circle polls, Prabowo is the favourite potential candidate behind Megawati, with 18 per cent support. In February 2012, LSI published a survey showing Prabowo to be polling higher than Megawati due to personal qualities, such as his empathy toward grassroots organisations, his staunch nationalistic stance, and his charm as a military man. His position as a strong contender is also supported by the growing popularity of Gerindra, especially after all quick count tabulations and survey declared that running mates Joko Widodo and Basuki Tjahaja Purnama will likely win in the Jakarta’s gubernatorial election.

Nevertheless, Prabowo cannot rest on his laurels. In 2004, two years before Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s election, an LSI survey showed that he only had 2 per cent support. Two months before the elections, his support had skyrocketed to 22 per cent, enabling him to surpass the incumbent, Megawati. This suggests that a strong political manoeuvre from an opponent could change current projections, especially given 60 per cent of Indonesians are still unsure of their preferred candidate. Prabowo’s past could also be a weakness. In particular, allegations about his involvement in 1998 human-rights abuses toward reformist groups, and his insubordinate behaviour toward former President Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie, may come back to haunt him.

Given Prabowo’s strong nationalistic values, many questions were raised in relation to his running for president. In response, Prabowo referred to himself as a pragmatist, suggesting that despite his strong nationalist sentiments he is open to international cooperation. Further, Prabowo believes that Indonesia should not be restricted to Western political models; that rather, it must develop a model that borrows from both socialism and liberalism. During his question-and-answer session in Singapore, Prabowo also criticised the current administration for a lack of presence in the market, for example, its failure to nurture state-owned enterprises. He used the Singaporean government’s involvement with Singapore Airlines as a model that Indonesia should follow. But he also stated that where the private sector is vibrant, the government should allow it to thrive rather than curtailing it.

By making such statements Prabowo is sending a message that he is ready to be an open and cooperative president, but will still champion Indonesia’s national interest. Whether or not Indonesian voters will favour Prabowo come 2014, his debut in Singapore signalled to the international community that he is ready to step back into the political spotlight.

Emirza Adi Syailendra is a Research Analyst at the Indonesia Programme of the S. Rajaratnam of International Studies, Singapore.