There was a time when Prabowo Subianto’s name would have spooked most Indonesians.
But now young voters appear to be charmed by the defence minister’s slick makeover. The fiery ex-special forces commander dogged by allegations of human rights abuses and disappearances has become a cute grandfather made for memes.
“He is much older, but he is able to embrace my generation,” says a 25-year-old supporter of his, Albert Joshua.
Now 72, Mr Prabowo is running to succeed the popular Joko Widodo when the world’s third-largest democracy votes on 14 February. He is promising more of the stability and economic development Mr Widodo, or Jokowi as he is better known, pushed during his decade in power.
So far the polls put Mr Prabowo ahead of his younger rivals, Ganjar Pranowo and Anies Baswedan. Both men are in their 50s and have experience running key Indonesian provinces as governors. Job security, infrastructure and a bigger diplomatic role for Indonesia dominate their campaigns.
Mr Prabowo’s running mate is Mr Widodo’s eldest son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka. It’s a choice that many see as a tacit blessing by the president, who is yet to endorse anyone, including his own party’s candidate, Mr Pranowo.
But a Prabowo presidency is also alarming to many, who say he has never been held accountable for the alleged abduction and killing of pro-democracy student activists decades ago.
A young voter, who did not wish to be named, says she is “terrified” he will win: “If he could be an accomplice of silencing voices then he will be silencing those voices now if he gets elected.”
“Cuteness” hardly makes an eligible leader, she says. “If that’s how you think a leader should be, then you should elect kittens.”
Cats are also a part of Mr Prabowo’s social media campaign. His brown and white stray, Bobby, has his own well-curated Instagram account that describes him as a “patriot”.
Then there are the TikTok videos of Mr Prabowo doing his signature move – an awkward shuffle across the stage – or shooting hearts at the audience. The gushing response has dubbed him “gemoy”, a moniker for all things cuddly and adorable. His young supporters call themselves the “gemoy squad”.
Mr Prabowo was born into a wealthy political family, the son of a renowned economist who served in the Indonesian cabinet.
He followed his father who left the country in 1957 under a cloud of controversy, and spent a decade of his childhood in exile in Europe.
After returning home, he joined the army and quickly moved up the ranks to become the captain of Indonesia’s elite special forces, the Kopassus.
By then he had already been accused of human rights violations in restive East Timor, where he had served as a member of the unit. His exact role in the military operations in East Timor that claimed hundreds of lives has never been proven and he denies the allegations. But the murky blot on his career has stayed.
He married one of Suharto’s daughters and remained in the dictator’s inner circle. As Suharto’s reign crumbled in the late 1990s, the Kopassus was accused of kidnapping more than 20 student activists who opposed the regime. At least a dozen of them are still missing and feared dead. Those who survived have alleged torture.
Mr Prabowo was discharged from the military, went into self-imposed exile in Jordan, made it onto a blacklist in Australia and was banned from travelling to the United States.
But he made a comeback in 2019, when Mr Widodo appointed him as his defence minister, turning the rivals into allies. The surprise move followed a bitter election win – Mr Prabowo blamed his loss on cheating – and violent protests that left eight people dead.
