Indonesia's Chief Security Minister Wiranto is recovering in hospital after he was stabbed by a suspected Islamic State sympathiser at an event where scores of people were queuing to shake his hand and take selfies.

Key points: A 51-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly attacking Wiranto and three other people with a knife

A 51-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly attacking Wiranto and three other people with a knife Police say the suspect may have been exposed to Islamic State ideology

Police say the suspect may have been exposed to Islamic State ideology Wiranto has been airlifted to a Jakarta hospital with two injuries to his stomach

Television footage showed the Minister slump to the ground beside his car after the attack in Pandeglang, in Banten province, west of the capital on the island of Java.

A police photograph showed the Minister, a former military general, being carried on a stretcher into a nearby hospital before he was airlifted to Jakarta where he underwent surgery.

The Minister had suffered two stomach injuries, Berkah Hospital director Firmansyah said.

A policeman, an army officer and an assistant were also injured.

Mr Tohir said police had arrested a man and a woman they suspected were a couple, and seized sharp weapons they were carrying, including knives and a pair of scissors.

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Indonesian President Joko Widodo said security had to be improved and the network behind the attack dismantled.

"I have ordered the chief of police and the head of intelligence, supported by the Indonesian army, to investigate thoroughly and to punish the perpetrators," Mr Widodo told reporters after visiting the Minister at the military hospital in Jakarta.

The Minister had been in the area to open a new building at a university and people were lining up to shake his hand and take selfies with him before the attack about noon.

"For the time being, the suspicion from Banten police is the man is likely to have been exposed to IS radicalism, while the woman is still being investigated," national police spokesman Dedi Prasetyo said.

Medics wheel Indonesian Chief Security Minister Wiranto into hospital. ( AP )

Officers wrestled the suspect to the ground, and an image supplied by police showed the suspect, who was wearing a black shirt and light trousers, with his arms and legs secured.

Indonesia, which is the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, is grappling with a resurgence in militancy.

The Government scrambled to tighten its anti-terrorism laws after a series of suicide bombings linked to the IS-inspired Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) group killed more than 30 people in the city of Surabaya last year.

Hundreds of people have been detained under the new laws since the beginning of 2019.

Wiranto has served in Joko Widodo's Cabinet since 2016. ( Reuters: Beawiharta )

Wiranto, 72, has served as Chief Security Minister in Mr Widodo's Cabinet since 2016.

His appointment drew criticism from rights groups for his involvement as chief of the armed forces in the bloody upheaval in East Timor.

Wiranto was indicted by a UN panel over the bloodshed surrounding East Timor's 1999 independence vote, when about 1,000 people were killed. Wiranto denied any wrongdoing in East Timor.

ABC/Wires