Escort and white SUV: Is the Indonesian state doing too much for Bobby, the president's cat?

A white SUV, escorted by security guards, parks in the southern suburbs of Jakarta, attracting a crowd of curious passersby. It's not a senior official who steps out, but a cat wearing a brown shirt adorned with four stars, escorted in a pram bearing his name, Bobby Kertanegara.

The scene, filmed on July 12 during Cat Lover Social Day, an event organized by the national police, sparked controversy in Indonesia after a video of Bobby being escorted by police officers was posted on social media.

President Prabowo Subianto 's beloved cat, Bobby has become a minor national celebrity since moving into the presidential palace with his owner in October 2024. He has an Instagram account with nearly 1 million followers and also has his own Wikipedia page .

The controversy quickly escalated online, with many netizens denouncing the misuse of public funds. “Our country has lost its mind,” wrote one. Some even renamed the cat guards “ Paspamcing,” a tongue-in-cheek contraction of Paspampres (presidential guard) and kucing (cat, in Indonesian), Kompas reports.

For Made Supriatma, a researcher at the Yusof-Ishak Institute for Southeast Asian Studies, interviewed by Tempo , this preferential treatment constitutes a form of affront to citizens, in a country where more than 60% of the population, or around 171.8 million people, lived below the poverty line in 2024. “A cat is not a first lady!” he protests, recalling that no other state reserves such treatment for its “official” animals, not even the United Kingdom with the famous “mousecatcher-in-chief” of 10 Downing Street, the cat Larry.

Others, on the other hand, defend the feline, a former stray who became the “nation’s first cat.” “Better to escort Bobby than corrupt officials.” “At least [he] makes people smile.”

When questioned, the Deputy Secretary of State, quoted by Kompas, assured that Bobby, as "the president's personal property," could benefit from state protection in the same way as his residence or other possessions.

The affair has now spread beyond the archipelago's borders. Hong Kong's English-language daily South China Morning Post describes the feline as a "reluctant diplomat , " while regional media outlet Seasia.co sees him as an unexpected embodiment of "the new soft power of Indonesian diplomacy," banking on an image of a "warm and family-oriented" partner more likely to reassure foreigners than President Prabowo Subianto's military past.

Since arriving at the presidential palace, Bobby Kertanegara has established himself as a regular at high-level meetings, receiving several diplomatic gifts along the way. In May, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese presented him with a red scarf emblazoned with the slogan “Australia loves Indonesia.” He also received a stuffed orca from Bill Gates and a “cat house” from the Chinese embassy.