Safeguards and a legislative timetable
In a statement released in Jakarta on Saturday, November 7, 2026, Mugiyanto backed the push by Commission III of the House of Representatives (DPR) to speed up deliberations. Indonesia currently regulates wiretapping through separate sector-specific laws rather than a comprehensive law with a unified oversight system, he said.
"The law is important to ensure that wiretapping powers are exercised based on the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality, independent oversight, and accountability," Mugiyanto said.
He also called for effective ways for people subjected to surveillance abuses to file complaints and obtain remedies. Without clear rules, he warned, unauthorized wiretapping can endanger privacy and freedom of communication and leave people vulnerable to intimidation.
Commission III chairman Habiburokhman said lawmakers would take up the wiretapping bill, known as RUU Penyadapan, on an accelerated schedule after the Asset Seizure Bill, which was targeted for completion before December. According to detikNews, he said the commission would also push bills concerning judges' positions and advocates.
A separate wiretapping law was already planned before the current case. In July 2025, the commission's working committee agreed to leave wiretapping provisions out of the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) bill and address them in dedicated legislation. Habiburokhman said that plan dated to the previous legislative period, according to DPR RI's Parlementaria.
Four suspects in the surveillance investigation
Mugiyanto condemned the alleged surveillance of Prabowo as a violation of constitutional protections for privacy and freedom of communication. He called for investigators to examine the allegations thoroughly, independently and transparently.
Police detained three senior police generals on November 3 as suspects in alleged illegal wiretapping targeting Prabowo and dozens of other figures: former national police chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who was then serving as presidential chief of staff; National Police legal division head Ahrie Sonta Nasution; and senior instructor Eko Hadi Santoso. Prabowo dismissed Listyo from the chief-of-staff position on November 4.
Police named a fourth suspect, Slamet Uliandi of the police criminal investigation unit, on November 5. He was not detained because he was in poor health after a stroke, according to the accounts from BBC News and detikNews.
Officials said on November 4 that the military had deployed more than 20,000 troops and personnel to Jakarta as authorities investigated the alleged operation, AP News reported.
The presidential palace said the alleged surveillance could constitute conduct leading toward treason because it involved sensitive information that could put the state at risk. BBC News reported that treason carries a possible sentence of life imprisonment or death in Indonesia, although the country has carried out no executions in a decade.
Habiburokhman drew a comparison with the US Watergate scandal, saying politically motivated wiretapping would amount to an Indonesian Watergate. He also cited that scandal as the trigger for US wiretapping legislation, detikNews reported.
State authority and support for Prabowo
Mugiyanto said the government's responsibility to protect the public must remain consistent with human rights, including when officials enforce the law or maintain security.
"Human rights protection is part of how the state exercises its authority, including in law enforcement and maintaining security. The state's authority to protect the public must not become an instrument that threatens the very rights it is meant to safeguard," he said.
He also urged all parts of society to support Prabowo's efforts to improve public welfare, particularly reforms to economic governance in line with Articles 33 and 34 of the 1945 Constitution. He rejected portrayals of those efforts as contrary to the public interest and warned against officials misusing their powers or undermining the government from within.
"While President Prabowo is working hard to improve public welfare, all parties should support him rather than stab him in the back. We must ensure that state authority is used to protect the people's interests, not abused for the personal interests of individuals or certain groups," he said.
