Prabowo Sacks Chief of Staff Over Wiretapping Plot

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has sacked his chief of staff, Listyo Sigit Prabowo, after police named him a suspect in an alleged scheme to wiretap the president. The palace said on Wednesday, November 4, that the case may amount to treason, The Straits Times reported.

Dismissed a month into the job

State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi told reporters at the presidential palace that the president had signed a decree removing Listyo, a former National Police chief who became Presidential Chief of Staff only on October 1.

Mr Prasetyo called the dismissal a "logical consequence" of Listyo being named a suspect. Lieutenant-General Ariyo Windutomo, head of the Presidential Secretariat, has been appointed acting chief of staff.

The palace went further, using the Indonesian word makar. Mr Prasetyo said the alleged acts may fall into a category "leading towards treason" and endangering state interests and the safety of the country's leaders. Under Indonesian law, makar covers attempts on the life or liberty of the president and efforts to overthrow the government.

What police allege

Police said on November 3 that Listyo and two police generals, Ahrie Sonta and Eko Hadi Santoso, allegedly intercepted phone communications between 2025 and 2026. According to police, the targets included:

the president and state officials;
politicians and journalists;
businesspeople;
leaders of civil society groups and NGOs.

The three suspects face charges under the Criminal Code and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law for illegal wiretapping, unauthorised computer access and unauthorised deletion of electronic information. They are being held at the National Police headquarters' detention centre in South Jakarta.

Who was behind it?

Asked whether the president knew on whose behalf the wiretapping was carried out, Mr Prasetyo said the details were still being processed by police and would be made public in due course. He said Prabowo was "deeply concerned" that an institution under the president would target the head of state, and had told the police chief, Suyudi Ario Seto, to handle the case "without anything being covered up".

Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs Yusril Ihza Mahendra, speaking in Banda Aceh, said there were early signs the case could breach the Criminal Code's treason articles, a shift from his comments a day earlier. He urged the public to stay calm.

Why it matters for the region

Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and a key partner for Thailand within ASEAN. A scandal reaching into the president's own office and the national police is likely to be watched closely by investors and neighbours.

More world news: US midterm results: Democrats win control of Congress and Myanmar airstrikes hit a clinic and school.

Photo: President Prabowo Subianto, 2024 official portrait, Ministry of State Secretariat of Indonesia / Wikimedia Commons, public domain. File photo.