JAKARTA - INDONESIA'S new military commander vowed on Thursday to push ahead with reforms of the armed forces, turning it into a law-abiding, professional body.

Indonesia's military wielded considerable political power under former President Suharto, who ruled for more than three decades.

During that time, it was involved in massacres, extrajudicial killings and human rights abuses, often conducted in the name of maintaining national unity.

'The TNI will complete and evaluate the reform process and maintain its neutrality in politics,' General Djoko Santoso told a news conference at military headquarters in Jakarta.

He also vowed to increase soldiers' welfare, improve the armed forces' professionalism and play a wider role in disaster relief. But, General Santoso warned that the greatest threat to Indonesia's security was domestic.

'Indonesia's biggest challenge is maintaining unity,' he said, a clear reference to Indonesia's separatists, such as those who want independence for the remote area of Papua.

General Santoso, who took office last month, is a close ally of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, a former general who studied in the United States.

Mr Yudhoyono won Indonesia's first direct presidential elections in 2004 on pledges to pursue reforms, tackle corruption, create jobs and boost economic growth.

While the military is no longer represented in parliament, it is still seen as having political influence, and has proved immune from prosecution over its human rights abuses.

Mr Yudhoyono on Thursday warned the military against abusing its power and taking unlawful action under the pretext of protecting the nation.

Speaking at the end of the military's leadership meeting, he warned that there were people who believed that the armed forces could take any action necessary to stabilise the nation even if it violated the law. He did not say who these people were.

'Let us not act individually. Let us not follow the example of some countries ... where the political situation is unstable, there were revolts and coups, resulting in a failure to build a democratic culture and good political system,' he told dozens of high-ranking officers at the military headquarters.

'The TNI must not say: 'Oh this is not right. We must not listen to the president and parliament',' he added, in what appeared to be a reference to ASEAN fellow members Thailand and the Philippines.

Mr Yudhoyono is widely expected to seek another term in the next presidential election in 2009.

Lucrative business

Under Mr Suharto, the military was involved in running various lucrative businesses and was frequently accused of rights abuses.

As part of post-Suharto reform, parliament passed a 2004 law requiring the government to take over all military businesses by 2009. But human rights groups said the process had been too slow.

General Santoso said the military had surrendered all its businesses to the government and it was up to the civilian authorities to decide what to do with them.

'We have nothing left. The ball is not in our court,' he said.

The military's involvement in business ventures has sometimes led to human rights abuses because of disagreements with local communities over mining and timber rights.

Defence Minister Juwono Sudarsono told Reuters on Thursday he hoped that a presidential decree on the restructuring of military businesses could be signed next week. He declined to elaborate.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, in a report released in June 2006, said the Indonesian military raises money outside the government budget through a sprawling network of legal and illegal businesses, many of which are not controlled by the military's central command. -- REUTERS