JP\/4\/year<\/p>\n
Eva C. Komandjaja
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Although the police institution in the country remains a target
\nof public criticism, mainly over the lack of professionalism and
\nskill, it does deserve some praise for the efforts in combating
\nterrorism and curbing illegal drug distribution in the country.<\/p>\n
However, the corruption eradication campaign is still far from
\nsatisfactory.<\/p>\n
Starting with the replacement of the national police chief in
\nJuly, the president's hand-picked successor, Gen. Sutanto,
\npledged to reform the institution by first turning the force into
\nan independent institution despite his close ties to President
\nSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono -- they were classmates at the Military
\nAcademy in 1973.<\/p>\n
Sutanto, who was promoted to the rank of commissioner general
\nin February, also had taken command of the National Narcotics
\nAgency. Susilo asked Sutanto, who rose to prominence due to his
\nperceived tough stance against gambling, to focus on corruption
\neradication, fuel smuggling, illegal logging and drug
\ntrafficking.<\/p>\n
After he assumed the position as chief in July, his biggest
\nachievement in the year 2005 can be counted in the war against
\nterrorism after his men managed to corner and kill Azahari bin
\nHusin, one of the country's most wanted men, in a police raid in
\nMalang, East Java.<\/p>\n
Azahari and his compatriot Noordin M. Top, both Malaysian
\nnationals, are believed to be the masterminds of a series of
\nbombing attacks in the country between 2000 and 2005.<\/p>\n
They are also suspected to be key members of local terror
\nnetwork Jamaah Islamiyah (JI), which is known to have links to
\nOsama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
The most recent terror attack by JI was the Oct. 1 restaurant
\nsuicide bombings on Bali, strong believed to be the handiwork of
\nAzahari and Noordin's foot soldiers as revealed in their
\nconfessions recorded on video before the attack.<\/p>\n
However, the police are still searching for Noordin, who
\nslipped through the police's hands during another raid in
\nSemarang, Central Java.<\/p>\n
In combating illegal drugs, Sutanto has been much more
\nsuccessful as he managed to raid two major ecstasy factories in
\nSerang, West Java and Banyuwangi, East Java, in November.<\/p>\n
The Serang factory was the world's third largest and it was
\ncapable of producing a million ecstasy pills a day with a street
\nvalue of an estimated Rp 100 billion (US$10 million).<\/p>\n
The Banyuwangi factory, although much smaller than the one
\nfound in Serang, was capable of producing 12,000 ecstasy pills a
\nday. The factory could earn up to Rp 28.8 billion per month.<\/p>\n
Being successful with terrorism and drugs, Sutanto, however,
\nhas not been able to fulfill his vow to eradicate gambling in the
\ncountry. During his first days in charge, he said that he would
\neliminate gambling permanently and ordered all regional police
\nchiefs to start the crackdown in their own areas.<\/p>\n
However, Sutanto's wish to eradicate gambling has not come
\ntrue, reportedly because there are still too many officers
\nreluctant to seriously crack down on the casinos, which they
\nallegedly profit from via their own protection racket.<\/p>\n
Forgetting gambling and focusing on repairing his own house,
\nSutanto moved forward with a plan to enforce the law among the
\nlaw enforcement personnel and start a police reform era.<\/p>\n
The reform process began with several police officers
\nundergoing disciplinary hearings or criminal investigations for
\ntheir criminal acts, which had long remained kept under the
\ncarpet.<\/p>\n
By replacing Insp. Gen. Supriyadi as the internal affairs
\ndivision head with former head of the telecommunications division
\nInsp. Gen. Yusuf Manggabarani, Sutanto began his mission in
\ninvestigating corrupt officials, including high-ranking officers.<\/p>\n
One example was the investigation of former head of the fraud
\nsquad at the National Police Headquarters Brig. Gen. Samuel
\nIsmoko and his subordinate Sr. Comr. Irman Santosa for allegedly
\nreceiving bribes from a corruption convict.<\/p>\n
Both have been declared suspects by the head of the
\ninvestigation team since the investigators found a large amount
\nof evidence linking them to bribery and abuse of power when they
\nwere investigating the high-profile corruption case involving
\nBank Negara Indonesia (BNI) in 2003.<\/p>\n
Former chief of detectives at the National Police Headquarters
\nComr. Gen. Suyitno Landung had also been named a suspect in the
\ncase.<\/p>\n
The chief of the Tebing Tinggi Police in North Sumatra has
\nlost his job for his role in the smuggling of sugar, and the
\nchief of the Bogor Police has been replaced in connection with
\nillegal fees imposed on people applying for driver's licenses.<\/p>\n
Another general caught by the internal affairs division net is
\nhead of the general supervision division Comr. Gen. Binarto. He
\nwas accused of abusing his authority by ordering East Java's sea
\npolice director Sr. Comr. Toni Suhartono to release a ship and
\nits crew alleged to be smuggling fuel.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, Binarto later submitted a resignation letter to
\nthe national police chief before his disciplinary hearing started
\nin December.<\/p>\n
Another case involving police misconduct were the findings of
\nsuspicious transactions in 14 police officer's bank accounts. The
\nFinancial Transaction and Report Comptroller (PPATK) discovered
\nthe suspicious transactions and reported to the police chief.<\/p>\n
The investigations into the accounts are still ongoing. Three
\ncase files for bank accounts belong to a one-star general with
\nthe initial Z and two middle-ranking officers identified by the
\ninitials MR and KM, have been submitted to the prosecutors.
\nHowever, the investigation into the 11 other cases have not as
\nyet.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) executive director Neta S. Pane
\ncriticized the police for moving too slowly in handling internal
\ncorruption.<\/p>\n
\"The police should be in the vanguard of the corruption
\neradication campaign. Ironically, the institution has been
\ntainted by bribery, budget mark-ups and theft of state money,\"
\nNeta said.<\/p>\n
However, with the recent reshuffle of 13 high-ranking police
\nofficers, one can expect the improvement within the institution
\nas well as reforms since the reshuffle marked an end to the
\nseniority-based career moves. Sutanto has chosen officers with
\ncapability and capacity for the new posts.<\/p>\n
In a telegram dated Dec. 9, made public on Saturday, Sutanto
\nappointed 13 new regional police chiefs, of whom eight will get a
\npromotion in rank.<\/p>\n
Also promoted was Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Made Mangku
\nPastika, who will become the operational chief of the National
\nNarcotics Agency, a post left vacant by Sutanto following his
\nappointment as National Police chief in July.<\/p>\n
Sr. Comr. Indradi Tanoes, who recently led the raid on the
\nworld's third largest ecstasy plant in Serang, Banten, also
\nearned a promotion as the head of the drug squad at the National
\nPolice Detective Directorate.<\/p>\n
Sutanto has also dismissed the Bogor police chief Sr. Comr.
\nTjiptono for sexual harassment, three months after his
\npredecessor Sr. Comr. Bambang Wasgito was demoted for his alleged
\nrole in an assault on a subordinate officer.<\/p>\n
It seems that the police force is gearing up for the future
\nwith reforms and improvement. Without tight law enforcement,
\nIndonesia will be a country left in the possession of criminals
\nand terrorists.<\/p>",
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