President Jokowi appoints Muhammad Ali as new Indonesian Navy chief of staff

Jakarta, The Gulf Observer: President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated Admiral Muhammad Ali as new Indonesian Navy (TNI AL) Chief of Staff to succeed Admiral Yudo Margono, who was promoted as the new National Defense Forces (TNI) Commander.

Apart from inducting Ali as chief of staff, the president also promoted him from the vice admiral ranking to full admiral.

“(I promise that) in executing my duties, I will uphold ethics and work to the utmost of my ability and responsibly. I promise to uphold the soldier’s oath,” Ali read his oath before the president at the inauguration ceremony at the State Palace here, Wednesday.

Presidential Decisions No. 100 TNI of 2022 on Discharge and Inauguration of Indonesian Navy Chief of Staff and No. 101 TNI of 2022 on Promotion of TNI High-ranking Staff, both dated December 28, 2022, are the legal basis for Ali’s appointment.

Before being inducted as the new TNI AL chief of staff, Ali served as Commander of the Joint Regional Defense Command (Kogabwilhan) I since August 2, 2021.

Ali was inducted into the Naval Academy in 1989 and after completing his study at the academy, he steadily rose through the ranks in the Navy. He was the adjutant of Vice President Boediono from 2012 to 2014 and later served as Chief of Staff of the Western Indonesian Area Maritime Security Group of Western Fleet of the Republic of Indonesia Command (Guskamlabar) from 2014 to 2015.

Ali then served as special staff for the TNI AL chief of staff in 2015 before inducted as the Guskamlabar Commander from 2015 to 2017. He then served as the TNI AL chief of staff’s deputy assistant for planning and budgeting from 2017 to 2018 and the Naval Academy Governor from 2018 to 2019.

Ali was inducted as coordinator of TNI AL chief of staff expert staff in 2019 and Commander of the Republic of Indonesia Fleet Command (Koarmada) I from 2019 to 2020. He served as TNI AL chief of staff’s assistant for planning and budgeting from 2020 to 2021.

Moreover, Ali had been trusted to represent Indonesia at various international summits, including a meeting with the US Ambassador to Indonesia, Sung Y. Kim, to discuss bilateral defense cooperation.