Army to raise money to improve soldiers' welfare

Army to raise money to improve soldiers' welfare

JAKARTA (JP): Internal reforms now underway will allow the
Army to raise trust funds for use in improving the welfare of its
personnel, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Tyasno Sudarto said on
Tuesday.

Speaking after opening the Army leadership annual meeting,
Tyasno said trust funds were worth looking into since the
government was unable to provide a sufficient military budget.

"The raising of trust funds is necessary because the
government cannot allocate an adequate budget to improve
servicemen's welfare," he said.

He said the trust funds would be used to provide affordable
housing for lower-income servicemen and scholarships for their
children.

Tyasno would not elaborate on how the Army planned to raise
the funds.

So far, besides cooperatives, the Army's Special Force
(Kopassus) and the Strategic Reserve Command (Kostrad) have their
own air and land transportation businesses. Many have criticized
military businesses, saying they violate the military's defense
function.

Military enterprises date back to 1950s as a means for a
commander to improve his soldiers' welfare.

Tyasno said the improvement of servicemen's welfare was one of
the Army's internal reforms to repair its battered image.

"The Army is preparing an internal and external action plan as
an integral part of the fundamental reforms in the military," he
said.

Also attending the day-long meeting were senior officials at
Army Headquarters, Kostrad chief Lt. Gen. Agus Wirahadikusumah,
Kopassus chief Maj. Gen. Sjahrir M.S. and all the regional
military commanders.

Tyasno said the Army would continue to apply military
discipline to servicemen in the force, and those who were found
violating the law would be tried immediately.

He said training programs in all Army units would also be
intensified in order to improve professionalism.

"All Army soldiers will be instructed to undergo routine
training to improve their skills. Army professionalism has been
in decline because many servicemen skip training programs due to
frequent assignments outside the military organization," he said.

Tyasno also said all Army units were obliged to establish good
communication with people in their local environment in an effort
to win their hearts.

"Besides, Army units have been instructed to intensify civic
work missions to help development programs in urban and rural
areas," he said.

He said the Army were planning to change the color of their
current uniforms, which were considered to make the people feel
scared, to light green.

"The new uniforms are part of the Army's step to get closer to
the people," he said.

The general said the Army has published a white book con
taining the force's programs over the next five years to improve
its image.

"The book describes the Army's image in the future," he said.

He said the Army would continue to help the National Police,
if needed, to provide a security guarantee for local and foreign
investors.

"Our joint main mission is to maintain defense and security
and to make the country safe for investors," he said.

Meanwhile, Indria Samego, a military observer from the
Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), said the President as
the supreme commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) should bar
the military from running business enterprises, except
cooperatives, because it was against the 1974 law on civil
servants and servicemen.

"The military has long run businesses in many sectors and this
is against the law because it stops servicemen focusing on their
main jobs," he said.

To cite a few of many examples, he said Kostrad was one of the
major shareholders in Mandala airlines, while Kopassus ran
several ferries plying the Merak (West Java)-Baukehuni (Lampung)
route.

The military should be allowed to set up cooperatives but they
should be managed transparently and professionally, since most
servicemen had yet to enjoy their annual profits.

"A large part of the cooperatives' profits have gone to
certain groups in the military," said Indria, who published a
book Bisnis Militer (Military Business) several years ago.

He said cooperatives were not prohibited because they were
included within the military's overall structure. (rms)