Prabowo Subianto and Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, the 8th President and Defense Minister of Indonesia, were seen riding together in a Maung vehicle after a handover memorandum ceremony at the Ministry of Defense in Jakarta on Tuesday (October 22).
The event included a ceremonial salute and the passing of a memorandum from Prabowo to Sjafrie, who will be taking over the role. They also exchanged tokens of appreciation before boarding the Maung, a vehicle produced by PT Pindad, to travel from the Ministry of Defense to the State Palace.
The public, including civilians and military personnel, showed great enthusiasm as Prabowo and Sjafrie passed by, shouting greetings and expressing their support.
Sjafrie and Prabowo have a long-standing bond dating back to their youth. They both graduated from the Military Academy in 1974 and served together in the elite Red Beret Corps, Kopassus. Throughout his career, Sjafrie held various key positions within the military and government before being officially appointed as Minister of Defense by President Prabowo for the Merah Putih Cabinet.
The ceremony marked the beginning of Sjafrie’s tenure as Defense Minister, as he was sworn into office on Monday, October 21, 2024.
