Bill on police said to fail to promote spirit of reform
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Despite separation between the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) since 1999, a reform bill currently being deliberated at the House of Representatives by a special committee, has failed to promote a spirit of reform, observers said on Wednesday.
A legal observer, who is also a member of the House Commission II on legal and home affairs JE Sahetapy said the bill also failed to focus on the police's main function as the protector of civilians.
"In Article 13 which stipulates the police's tasks and authorities, I don't see their prime role of protecting and serving people being held up as top priority with their second priority being the maintenance of security and public order," he said in a discussion held by the non-governmental organization Partnership for Governance Reform.
Also present at the discussion were Adnan Pandupraja of Indonesian Police Watch, Ifdhal Kasim of the Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy (Elsam), Bambang Widjojanto of the Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI), Dewi Nurjulianti of the National Commission for Women, and Fadillah Agus of the International Commission of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Sahetapy went on to say that the bill has failed to promote internal reform in the National Police because, "it (the bill) stresses mainly legal action instead of actual enforcement of reform laws."
Adnan Pandupraja, who is also a lecturer at the University of Indonesia, criticized the bill and called it a setback in reform because none of the articles stipulates an appropriate evaluation procedure for candidates with regard to the appointment of the National Police chief.
"In the current reform era, we need transparency, accountability, and public participation in every governmental decision. If we look at Article 11 line 1 which says that the National Police chief is appointed and dismissed by the President with the consent of the House, we can see that there is no transparency, nor is there public participation in the election.
"If the process fails to fulfill the demand for reform, how can we say we are being accountable to the public? Is the position of the National Police chief different from the one held by the chief of the Supreme Court?," Pandu asked.
Meanwhile, Fadillah Agus questioned why the bill did not specifically stipulate a possible involvement of the National Police in investigations of international crimes.
He said that "the police have to optimize their ability in dealing with transnational crimes in line with the current situation that the world is in."