A problem of image
A problem of image
To judge by the frequency with which they occur and the ease
with which they are provoked, one might believe that attacks on
police posts have become something of a new fad among Indonesians
these days.
In Karawang, just 72 kilometers east of Jakarta, daily life
was practically paralyzed late last week when thousands of
residents went berserk, attacking and vandalizing police
stations, burning cars and looting shops in a day of violence in
which two people died and at least eight others were wounded in
clashes between mobs and security personnel.
The reason for the violence: Rumors that a motorcycle taxi
driver had been physically abused by a police officer when he
refused to pay the officer off after being reprimanded for a
minor violation. Whether or not the account is true is of course
difficult to authenticate in the wake of the violence though,
unfortunately, such accounts are easily believed by the public.
The Karawang incident is but the latest in a string of
outbreaks of unrest in which the police have become the target of
mob violence. In the normally peaceful city of Surakarta in
Central Java last month, people turned violent when police tried
to disperse onlookers and stop youths from using the streets as
an arena for drag races. A police headquarters and the official
residence of the local police chief were attacked and damaged.
Two far-flung localities in other parts of Indonesia have also
seen heavy rioting; in November it was the turn of Tarutung in
the Sumatran regency of North Tapanuli, and then in December Poso
in Central Sulawesi. In the first incident, a police headquarters
was attacked, in the second the mobs concentrated their
destructive efforts on a police barracks.
Looking even farther back into the past, one could see that
attacks on police stations and headquarters are not exactly a new
phenomenon in this country. Remember, for instance, the Cicendo
incident in Bandung during the New Order regime. Also, of course,
security personnel including police are normal targets of mob
anger in such circumstances as the forcible eviction of illegal
land occupants or squatters.
It is only in the past few months, however, that the nature
and frequency of incidents appear to indicate that these recent
attacks may be more than local occurrences that occur
sporadically and are sparked by isolated arguments. Something
more basic than local or personal resentments must be at play.
It is interesting in this context to cite a few findings of a
survey conducted among Jakarta residents by the daily newspaper
Kompas last weekend. Polled on a number of questions, the
following basic findings emerged: More than 68 percent of
respondents believe it takes money to deal with the police. More
than 62 percent believe asking for police help is a tedious
affair and nearly 40 percent of respondents think involving the
police only makes things more complicated. Moreover, 47 percent
of respondents believe the police are incapable of protecting the
public against crime.
In a nutshell what the poll appears to confirm is the widely
voiced opinion that the police are less than effective in the
performance of their most basic duty of protecting and serving
the public. On the other hand, the ubiquitous complaint about the
police and their money-taking, not to say extortion, from
motorists along the roads does not help to make their image any
better.
It is an age-old adage that in order to possess authority one
must have the respect of other people, and in order to earn
people's respect exemplary behavior is a prerequisite. Our police
authorities would do well to keep this old axiom in mind.
Instilling such an attitude among the rank and file of our police
is admittedly no easy task.
Yet, it is a step that is sure to be the most effective for
the purpose -- more so even than expanding the force or
mobilizing civilian guards to assist the police in times of
trouble.