Kamra members plead for help<\/p>\n
By Winahyo Soekanto<\/p>\n
DENPASAR (JP): Some 40,000 members of the People's Security
\n(Kamra) force across the country may on Dec. 31 lose their low-
\npaying jobs with the cessation of their two-year work contract.
\nWhere will they go and what will they do?<\/p>\n
The potential social problem caused by the loss of employment
\nof the Kamra members - many of whom were recruited precisely
\nbecause they were hooligans and had to be kept off the streets -
\nis an example of the consequences when a government too
\nfrequently resorts to ad hoc and temporary measures.<\/p>\n
Some of the more outspoken Kamra members - who are paid a
\nsubsistence of Rp 300,000 per month - have in their respective
\nregions staged demonstrations demanding an explanation as to how
\nthe government will help them. The most recent expression of
\nconcern was made by eleven Kamra members who, accompanied by
\nYogyakarta governor, Sultan Hamengkubuwono X, visited the House
\nof Representatives in Jakarta. They demanded that they be
\nrecruited into the Indonesian Military (TNI), police or civil
\nservice.<\/p>\n
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso responded to the demands by
\npromising to recruit the soon-to-be ex-Kamra members as hansip
\n(civilian guards).<\/p>\n
Ironically, neither the police, who for the past two years
\nhave been the \"user\" of Kamra members, nor the defense ministry,
\nwhich organized the force, has declared any plans for the Kamra.<\/p>\n
This is despite the fact that a large section of the public
\nhas felt the benefit of the presence of Kamra members--they have
\nbeen in the front line trying to control brawls, helping to ease
\nchronic traffic congestions and many others.<\/p>\n
In addition, the police force has turned Kamra members into
\nall-round helpers - for office administrative work, as couriers
\nto transport criminal evidence from one place to another, or to
\nescort prisoners.<\/p>\n
The government established Kamra as part of its social safety
\nnet program, recruiting people from crisis-hit sections of the
\ncommunity and giving them employment. Skepticism initially
\ngreeted the policy, as well as fears that the Kamra members would
\nserve only as the henchmen of the security authorities (the
\nmilitary and the police).<\/p>\n
They turned out doing a good job, giving the credit, however,
\nto the police whose reputation as a corrupt force could not be
\nworse as indicated in an Asian Wall Street Journal report last
\nOctober.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian police - one of the four law enforcement bodies
\nalong with prosecutors, judges and legal counsels, as well as the
\npublic security apparatus - has yet to be rid of its poor image
\nresulting from decades of subordination by the military.<\/p>\n
The Presidential Instruction No. 2\/1999 released the police
\nfrom the military but the police force seems to be still unsure
\nof itself, a fact which presumably comes from years of dependence
\non the military leadership.<\/p>\n
Two other major problems have been identified for poor police
\nperformance, namely their poor human resources and limited
\nnumbers as well as a severe lack of funds.<\/p>\n
The ideal proportion of police officers to the population is
\n1: 200-300, which means that one policeman is assigned to
\nsafeguard only 200 to 300 people. In Indonesia, the prevailing
\nratio is 1 : 1,400 and observers say it will take the country 30
\nyears to reach the ideal figure.<\/p>\n
No wonder the police appear to be helpless when they have to
\nhandle crimes committed by military members. They became the
\nnational laughing stock when convicted tycoon Hutomo \"Tommy\"
\nMandala Putra escaped his jail sentence and disappeared without a
\ntrace.<\/p>\n
How then will the police answer the question on the future of
\n40,000 Kamra members?<\/p>\n
The government must cease its habit of making temporary, ad
\nhoc policies for problems that are by nature lengthy and need
\nthought-out solutions. Quick-fix solutions have been proven time
\nand again to create fresh problems later on.<\/p>\n
The government must also learn to keep its own words and
\nrespect the people who are the \"customers\" of its policies.
\nFormal work arrangements have its own rules and regulations,
\nincluding fair termination arrangements. The Kamra members are
\nbound to a work contract so the termination of this contract
\nshould be arranged fairly.<\/p>\n
Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian who was once an advisor to former
\npresident Alberto Fujimori, said widespread poverty in many
\ndeveloping countries was attributable to a legal system that
\nfailed to respect the poor people's ownership of land, property
\nand work.<\/p>\n
It is the government's responsibility to eradicate poverty, so
\nit should respect and appreciate the work contract and the
\nsacrifices made over the past two years by Kamra members.<\/p>\n
The government can actually employ the Kamra members to
\naugment the ratio of police to population, turn them into
\n\"parapolice\" and thus improve its public service. Certainly the
\ngovernment does not need to apply requirements that are for the
\nrecruitment of \"real\" police.<\/p>\n
The public has proven its ability to differentiate between the
\npolice and these \"parapolice\" whose main function is to help
\nmaintain security and order rather than being part of the
\ncriminal justice system.<\/p>\n
We can then expect the public to realize that the Kamra are
\nnot police but part of the police force with a different mandate.<\/p>\n
The Kamra can then be turned into \"a civilian face\" of the
\npolice force because the public realizes that Kamra are indeed
\ncivilians. This might help police win back public trust that it
\nhad lost over the years.<\/p>\n
In addition, recruitment of the Kamra members could be done on
\na smaller budget. This should be a better alternative to
\nrecruiting a large number of new police cadets - a process that
\nactually needs to be overhauled to free it from bribe-taking and
\nnepotistic practices as well as have it adhere to a merit system.<\/p>\n
The Kamra or \"parapolice\" would then be able to maintain their
\nusefulness in the public service sector, and with greater
\nenthusiasm should the government declare their service as an in-
\nservice training before recruitment into the police force.<\/p>\n
The writer is a lawyer based in Denpasar.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/kamra-members-plead-for-help-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }