STORIES of the military doing business should have ended long ago. According to Law No. 34/2004 on the Indonesian Military (TNI), soldiers are forbidden to own or run any kind of business as of five years after the law was enacted. However, rather than returning to the barracks, a number of soldiers are still doing business and even getting involved in disputes with their business partners.

In Pasuruan, East Java, the 10/Jaladri Palaka ...