disorder and the ‘preman state’

United Indonesian People’s Movement (Gerakan Rakyat Indonesia Bersatu Jaya, GRIB Jaya) leader Hercules Rosario Marcal at the office of Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya, in a photo posted by the Cabinet Secretary’s Instagram account on 27 March 2026.
Photo from instagram.com/teddy_hq

Indonesian modern history is littered with stories of shadowy figures, underworld groups, militia, and criminal gangs, commonly known as preman. For its co-option and adoption of the activities and characteristics of these groups, scholars described the New Order period of Suharto’s authoritarian regime as the ‘preman state’.

Almost three decades later, the role of these informal violence networks, protection racketeers, and gangsters remains entwined within the political, social, and economic structures of democratic Indonesia. Recently, public discussion and investigations have focused on one of these groups – the United Indonesian People’s Movement Gerakan Indonesia Rakyat Bersatu or GRIB Jaya, its leader Rosario de Marcal, known as Hercules, and his close relationship with President Prabowo.

This group’s role in the Jakarta protests, which erupted into deadly violence on 27 August, has again raised questions about the underlying system of disorder that enables such criminality and gives groups like GRIB Jaya access to those at the highest levels of state power.

In this week’s episode, Jemma Purdey chats with Abdil Mughis Mudhoffir, an Alexander von Humboldt research fellow at the GIGA Institute for Asian Studies and the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study in Germany. Mughis is also an honorary fellow at the Asia Institute, University of Melbourne. The publications referred to in the podcast include State of Disorder: Privatised Violence and the State in Indonesia (2022); A’yun, R. Q., & Mudhoffir, A. M. (2026). ‘Corrupt But Functioning: Legal Brokerage in Indonesia’s Criminal Justice System’. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 1–27; Mudhoffir, A. M., & A’yun, R. Q. (2021). ‘Doing business under the framework of disorder: illiberal legalism in Indonesia’. Third World Quarterly, 42(11), 2651–2668; Mudhoffir, A. M., A’yun, R. Q., & Hermawan, A. (2026). ‘Riots, ruptures and power contests under Prabowo’. Journal of Current Southeast Asian Affairs.

In 2026, the Talking Indonesia podcast is co-hosted by Dr Jemma Purdey from the Australia-Indonesia Centre, Dr Jacqui Baker from Murdoch University, Dr Elisabeth Kramer from the University of New South Wales, Ambyo from RMIT,  Clara Siagian from the University of College London.