ABRI asked to redefine its job description

JAKARTA (JP): A senior military figure suggested that the Indonesian Armed Forces (ABRI) redefine the roles and duties of its leaders in order to avoid overlapping authorities.

Former army chief of staff Gen. (ret) Rudini cited the armed forces chief of sociopolitical affairs and the armed forces chief of general affairs as two key positions that often overlapped. The posts are currently held by Lt. Gen. Syarwan Hamid and Lt. Gen. Tarub.

According to a 1982 law on Armed Forces, the first post is dedicated to help the ABRI chief in social and political roles, whereas the second post is for the development of personnel.

In practice, however, "there are overlapping authorities between the two positions," according to Rudini. ABRI, he argued, needs to redefine the job description of its leaders and their command line.

As yet, "there's no clear definition what constitutes the duties of key Armed Forces officials," said the former home affairs minister.

"ABRI needs to do this if it wishes to meet the increasing demand for professionalism and future challenges," Rudini said after launching his research institute, the Institute for Strategic Studies of Indonesia (LPSI), onto the internet on Tuesday.

He pointed out how soldiers often misunderstand their superiors' instructions due to poor coordination among personnel in the military. He cited troops' indiscriminate action against community groups seeking to voice something which is against government policy, as an example.

He said, for instance, it's no longer enough for troops to quell demonstrations the way they did in the past. "Now, they have to be armed with reasonable arguments (as to why they are quelling opposition). They must be professional," he said.

Misunderstanding or poor coordination, however, are not signs of serious conflict within the elite layer of the Armed Forces, however.

"You can't say that people are in conflict only because they give different statements on certain issues," Rudini argued.

He did not give an example, but over the past weeks, there has been speculation that elements in the Armed Forces are in conflict over ABRI's stance on the next vice presidency.

After several leading figures, including Minister of Defense and Security Gen. (ret) Edi Sudradjat, gave different statements as to whether ABRI will name a vice presidential candidate of its own, Armed Forces Chief of Sociopolitical Affairs Syarwan Hamid then moved to contain the controversy by saying that the official stance would be given only by him or ABRI Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung.

Only recently, Army Chief of Staff Gen. R. Hartono said that previous statements about the issue were a procedural mistake.

He said on Monday that naming names for vice presidential candidates was "taboo, unconstitutional and out of procedural line." "It won't happen again," he said in Jakarta.

All eligible Indonesians will cast their votes in the May 29 general elections to elect members of the House of Representatives (DPR).

Together with the appointed 500-member body of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the 500-member DPR will meet in March next year to elect a president and vice president and to establish its five-year state guidelines. (imn/swe)