Donation to police 'should be made accountable'<\/p>\n
Evi Mariani, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Newly installed Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Firman Gani says
\nhe has many pressing tasks to perform during his tenure, two of
\nwhich are improving the infrastructure available to the force
\nwhile at the same time increasing efficiency in the use of the
\nfunds allocated to the police out of the state budget.<\/p>\n
But how will he be able to procure \"new premises and state-of-
\nthe-art technology\" while trying to make savings out of an
\nalready tight budget?<\/p>\n
\"We will find other sources of funds. Who knows, there may be
\nsome people out there who want to contribute to the development
\nof the police,\" Firman said, apparently only half in jest, after
\nhis inauguration last week.<\/p>\n
The changes came fast. Two days later, Firman had the lobby of
\nhis office renovated, while a few small buildings in the police
\ncompound on Jl. Sudirman, which were previously used to house
\nfood stalls, had been demolished to make way for new buildings.<\/p>\n
The following day, the mobile detective division announced
\nthey had taken delivery of 85 new motorcycles.<\/p>\n
Chief of detectives Sr. Comr. Mathius Salempang said that they
\nwere expecting to receive a total of 300 new motorcycles by the
\nend of August.<\/p>\n
So, where did the police get the money for all of this?<\/p>\n
\"The money for the renovation of the chief's lobby was taken
\nfrom his own special allocation out of the state budget,\" Jakarta
\nPolice spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo said on Saturday. \"Some of
\nthe motorcycles were bought for us by National Police
\nHeadquarters, while the remainder are being paid for by donors.\"<\/p>\n
Prasetyo did not say who these donors might be.<\/p>\n
The state has allocated Rp 3.02 trillion this fiscal year to
\ncover the cost of policing, which includes the operating costs of
\nthe force nationwide -- particularly high this year due to the
\nfear of terrorist attacks during the current election season.<\/p>\n
It is public knowledge that the police budget is grossly
\ninadequate and that to keep operating the police accept, or even
\nsolicit, donations from the public, especially the business
\ncommunity.
\n In 2002, President Megawati Soekarnoputri's husband Taufik
\nKiemas donated 20 patrol cars to the Jakarta Police and two new
\nBMW cars for presidential security detail. Other businesspeople
\nhave also donated patrol cars to the police, but the force
\nappears loath to reveal who they are.<\/p>\n
\"The law does not require us to reveal to the public who our
\ndonors are. We also do not have any obligation to account for
\nthese donations,\" Prasetyo asserted, referring to Law No. 20\/2002
\non the National Police.<\/p>\n
However, Bambang Widodo Umar, a lecturer in the Police Studies
\nDepartment at the University of Indonesia, said the police should
\nbe required to submit accounts in respect of donations received
\nto the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) or the Development Finance
\nComptroller (BPKP).<\/p>\n
\"Making the police accountable for financial management is
\nimportant in order to minimize embezzlement and for ensuring that
\nthe force becomes independent and impartial,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Bambang added that if businesspeople wanted to make donations
\nto the police, they should register these with the Directorate
\nGeneral of Taxes at the Ministry of Finance so that public could
\nmonitor the manner in which the donations were utilized.<\/p>\n
\"Ideally speaking, the state should cover all the costs of
\npolicing so that the force works in the interests of the public,
\nnot vested interests,\" Bambang added.
\n \"I know that it will not be easy to achieve such an ideal
\nsituation, but, for the time being, the police should at the very
\nleast account for the donations they receive,\" he stressed.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/donation-to-police-should-be-made-accountable-1447893297",
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