Opposition to police legislation intensifies<\/p>\n
Tiarma Siboro and Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Governor of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas)
\nErmaya Suradinata expressed concern here on Monday that the
\nNational Police had yet to be independent despite their
\nseparation from the Indonesian Military (TNI).<\/p>\n
\"After conducting research on the police, I have found out
\nthat Indonesia is the only country that places its National
\nPolice directly under the president,\" Ermaya told reporters on
\nthe sidelines of the opening ceremony of a Lemhannas training
\ncourse.<\/p>\n
\"Nearly 90 percent of all countries have placed their National
\nPolice under the Ministry of Home Affairs. This does not include
\nthe United States, which places its police under the Ministry of
\nJustice,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"The situation is worsened by the requirement that the
\npresident must secure approval from the House of Representatives
\nto elect the chief of police,\" Ermaya said, adding that the
\nintervention of the president and the House would affect the
\nindependence of the police, despite calls that it should remain
\nneutral from any political interests.<\/p>\n
Ermaya criticized the People's Consultative Assembly Decree
\nNo. VI\/MPR\/2001, which stipulates that the National Police be
\nheaded by a chief who is appointed and dismissed by the
\npresident, with the consent of the House.<\/p>\n
Such a decree has been adopted in a bill on the police,
\nscheduled to be enacted on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to Ermaya, the election of the chief of police must
\nbe left to the institution itself as it held responsibility to
\nmanage its own personnel.<\/p>\n
Twenty three legislators demanded on Monday that the House
\nspeaker delay the enactment of the police bill.<\/p>\n
Hartono Mardjono, one of the 23 legislators, argued that as
\nthe bill was prone to police manipulation, so as to substitute
\nTNI's political role, its enactment should be postponed.<\/p>\n
The bill needed reviewing as it was only advantageous to the
\npolice, he said.<\/p>\n
\"I have the impression that the police would attempt to take
\nover the political role abandoned by the TNI. This is not right,
\nboth the TNI and police should keep away from politics,\" Hartono
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
He said that there were loopholes in the bill that needed to
\nbe reviewed and restored as articles in the bill had no clear-cut
\nexplanation.<\/p>\n
Citing Articles 4 and 14 in Section C of the bill, Hartono
\nsaid that police could take any measure to quell action that
\nthreatened their existence.<\/p>\n
\"This contradicts the function of the police to serve and
\nprotect the public,\" Hartono said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/opposition-to-police-legislation-intensifies-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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