Jakarta. President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on Wednesday notified the House of Representatives of his pick for the successor of Armed Forces Commander General Andika Perkasa who will retire next month.

Andika will reach the retirement age of 58 on December 21, or 13 months after he was installed as the country’s military chief.

His successor is either the chief of staff of one of the military branches or a former one, State Secretary Pratikno told reporters.

"The only clue I can provide is that he must be an active officer," Pratikno said.

He declined to cite a name, saying: “Let the House reveal the person.” 

The top post of the Indonesian Military has been rotated randomly among the three branches to end the practice of solely picking someone from the Army during the 32-year tenure of President Soeharto.

However, two of the last three commanders have come from the Army including Andika and Gatot Nurmantyo.

Andika assumed his office on November 17 of last year to replace Chief Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto.

According to the Law on the Indonesian Military, a presidential appointee for the military chief requires approval from the House.

If a disagreement arises, the president has to appoint a new candidate.

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