Criticism Mounts as Indonesia Passes Revised Police Law

The Civil Society Coalition for Police Sector Reform has rejected the ratification of the third revision of Law Number 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian National Police (Polri). Coalition representative Muhammad Isnur stated that this rejection is because the newly passed Police Law is not in line with the mandate of police reform. “The drafting process was also carried out haphazardly,” Isnur said in a written statement on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. The Coalition assesses that the process of drafting the Police Bill by the Working Committee and the government ignored meaningful participation as regulated by law. Isnur said that instead of being transparent and accountable, the bill drafting process proceeded behind closed doors. One example is the absence of an official draft, which made the bill’s deliberation process difficult for the public to monitor. “The lack of transparency has resulted in the closing of equal participation spaces between policymakers and the public,” said Isnur. The Coalition also considers the drafting and deliberation process of the Police Bill to have been conducted hastily. This can be seen in the relatively short timeframe; the Police Bill was proposed as a House of Representatives (DPR) initiative on 20 May 2026 and passed into law on 9 June 2026. Isnur cautioned that a rushed deliberation would cause problems and lead to lawsuits. A number of problematic DPR legislative products resulted from being discussed at lightning speed, ranging from the KPK Law, the Job Creation Law, the TNI Law, to the Criminal Procedure Code. “The reckless ratification process has instead given birth to various serious problems later on,” he said. Another provision in the Police Law highlighted by the Coalition is the placement of active Polri personnel in civilian posts. According to Isnur, this provision contradicts the MPR Decree and Constitutional Court Decision Number 114/PUU-XXIII/2025. “The formulation of Article 28A of the Police Bill actually opens up a very wide space for active Polri personnel to occupy civilian posts without clear boundaries,” said Isnur. However, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo said the placement of active personnel must receive approval from the ministry. “There must also be a request. If there is no request, Polri will not send personnel,” Listyo said at the DPR Complex on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. The newly passed Police Law also regulates the retirement age limit for Polri personnel. In this regulation, the maximum retirement age limit for non-commissioned officers (tantama and bintara) is set at 59 years. Meanwhile, for the officer corps, the maximum retirement age limit is 60 years. However, during the level I decision-making, the government proposed increasing the retirement age limit for high-ranking Polri officers with a four-star rank to 61 years, according to necessity. The Coalition is concerned that the addition of the retirement age limit provision will hamper the personnel regeneration process and increase the number of non-job personnel. This provision is feared to increase the budget burden, eroding the state’s fiscal capacity. The Coalition also questioned a number of other provisions, such as Article 19A of the Police Law, which increasingly shows the failure of Polri accountability evaluation because it only relies on internal oversight. The Police Bill was passed into law during the 21st DPR Plenary Session of the 5th Session Period of the 2025-2026 Session Year on Tuesday, 9 June 2026. Deputy Minister of Law Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, known as Eddy Hiariej, welcomed members of the public who feel their constitutional rights have been violated by the Police Bill to file a material or formal review lawsuit to the Constitutional Court. He said that the government, as the lawmaker, has no issue with the criticisms conveyed by the public, including regarding provisions on placing active Polri members in civilian posts to raising the retirement age limit. “We accept criticism with open arms. But, there is an elegant channel,” Eddy said.