City graduates last batch of civilian force members

JAKARTA (JP): The last batch of the 3,000-member People's Security (Kamra) civilian force have just completed their 12-day military training course, Jakarta Military Command spokesman Lt. Col. DJ Nachrowi said.

After the completion of this course last week, the city now has 12,000 Kamra members, which have been deployed to manage traffic in heavy flow areas in and around the capital.

According to Nachrowi, Jakarta security authorities so far have no plans to train more Kamra personnel, which were originally assigned to help maintain security in the city ahead of the June 7 general election and the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) General Session in August.

"The current number of Kamra personnel is satisfactory. It is my superior who decides whether or not the city needs more Kamra," Nachrowi said on Monday.

After completing their training, Kamra members are deployed and supervised by Jakarta Police.

Police spokesman Lt. Col. Zainuri Lubis said on Monday the 12,000 Kamra members "are adequate to assist city police in maintaining security here".

"Moreover, it's not easy to manage a huge number of people like them," Lubis said.

The Kamra force is expected to be disbanded by the end of the year, after the MPR General Session, he said.

Last week police came under fire for failing to distribute meal and transportation allowances to Kamra members, who are paid Rp 200,000 each per month.

The Media Indonesia daily reported on Friday that some Kamra members in Jakarta, Tangerang and Bekasi expressed resentment after no payments were made for their meal and transportation expenses.

The amount was not mentioned, but officer Lubis admitted the problem and said it was mainly due to "a bureaucratic error".

He said the problem had been solved and said he hoped so further such delays would occur in the future.

The funding for Kamra comes from the central government budget, and the police are responsible for distributing the funds.

The training of the 12,000 Kamra for the capital was divided into four batches with 3,000 recruits each. (01)