House clears Sutanto's way up<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Sole candidate Comr. Gen. Sutanto was not made to labor on Monday to
\nwin the House of Representatives' endorsement for his appointment
\nas the new police chief to replace Gen. Da'i Bachtiar.<\/p>\n
Members of House Commission I on legal and human rights
\naffairs asked Sutanto dozens of questions on his strategies and
\nplans during a seven-hour selection hearing, which appeared to be
\nmore a formality than anything else, according to several
\nlegislators.<\/p>\n
The House's decision will be official announced during a House
\nplenary session on Tuesday, and will be sent back to President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who proposed Sutanto last week.<\/p>\n
Trimedya Panjaitan from the Indonesian Democratic Party of
\nStruggle (PDI-P), the self-styled opposition in the House, said
\nthat most of Sutanto's answers did not reflect the core issues,
\nalthough they were conceptually good.<\/p>\n
\"He didn't quite excel himself in giving concrete answers, but
\nwe know that he is more of a doer than a talker,\" he said.<\/p>\n
United Development Party (PPP) legislator Lukman Hakim said
\nthat Sutanto's answers had failed to satisfy him.<\/p>\n
\"He didn't really elaborate. He also failed to detail what
\nimmediate action would be taken so as to benefit the public,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
A similar sentiment was expressed by legislator Mutamimmul Ula
\nof the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS).<\/p>\n
\"In my opinion, Sutanto is just ordinary. Nothing in his
\npresentation was impressive, although concept-wise, there was
\nalso nothing negative,\" he said.<\/p>\n
However, all 10 factions in the House appeared generous and
\nforgiving as regards Sutanto's presentation, underlining his relatively
\nclean record and noteworthy achievements in the fight against
\ngambling when he was the chief of the North Sumatra and East Java
\nforces.<\/p>\n
\"Compared to other officers in the police, Sutanto has a
\nrelatively cleaner record and my faction feels it's right to give
\nhim a shot,\" Lukman said.<\/p>\n
Mutamimmul said his faction could not find any significant
\nreason not to endorse Sutanto.<\/p>\n
\"Before today's selection hearing, all the factions had
\nalready decided on whether they would or would not endorse him.
\nToday's process was just a reconfirmation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
No interruptions nor requests for greater elaboration were
\nmade by the lawmakers during the hearing, which was open to
\npublic.<\/p>\n
Neither did the commission members question Sutanto's wealth,
\nwhich reportedly includes a Rp 4 billion (US$400,000) house in
\nthe upmarket Pondok Indah residential area in South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
\"Several Commission III members visited my house earlier and
\nthey saw all I had there. Regarding my wealth, I have reported it
\naccording to the procedures,\" Sutanto shortly said.<\/p>\n
During the hearing, Sutanto said he would \"share power\" with
\nlocal police chiefs by providing them with adequate powers to
\nprovide better services to the public.<\/p>\n
He also vowed to create a police force that would be able to
\nrespond quickly to reports on security disturbances, and increase
\ncommunity policing so as to increase public involvement in the
\nfight against crime.<\/p>\n
Outside the House, the Police Watch organization demanded that
\nthe new police chief introduce the principles of transparency,
\naccountability and public participation in the management of the
\nforce.<\/p>\n
It also urged the new chief to probe all abuses by police
\nofficers in order to create a clean and trustworthy force.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/house-clears-sutantos-way-up-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}