The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence

www.rsis.edu.sg No.002– 9 January 2025 The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies of the S. [...] According to some Muhammadiyah activists, accepting ministerial and other political appointments would allow the organisation a seat at the highest decision-making table and ensure that its concerns related to Islamic and educational affairs are incorporated by the Prabowo administration — and, more importantly, that Muhammadiyah’s voice will also be heard by the administration. [...] Concerned about the prospect of further loss of followers to more ideologically conservative competitors, Muhammadiyah leaders feel they need to be closer to the Indonesian state in order to prevent conservative Islamists from infiltrating the organisation and its affiliated amal usaha institutions. [...] Muhammadiyah and Prabowo’s Policies Due to the reasons above, Muhammadiyah leaders are willing to forgo their “high” politics and trade it for “normal” politics by accepting the appointment of its cadres to the Prabowo cabinet. [...] In addition, it remains to be seen whether Muhammadiyah appointees in the government, particularly those in the primary and secondary education and the higher education, science, and technology ministries, can implement curriculum reforms that would improve the educational attainment of Indonesian students, while also committing themselves to follow through on the good governance reforms recommend.