Dibyo tipped for promotion in forces reshuffle
Dibyo tipped for promotion in forces reshuffle
JAKARTA (JP): National Police Chief Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro and the chiefs of staff of the Navy, Air Force and Army will be replaced next week.
The current Army Chief of Staf is Gen. Hartono, while Admiral Tanto Kuswanto is the Navy commander and the Air Force Commander is Marshal Rilo Pambudi.
The successors are scheduled to be announced by the Armed Forces (ABRI) Commander Gen. Feisal Tanjung next week, the chief of the Armed Forces for general affairs, Lt. Gen. Soeyono, was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday. He did not disclose the names.
However, reliable sources told The Jakarta Post yesterday that Maj. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, the current police chief of the Greater Jakarta Area, may replace Gen. Banurusman, who retires when he turns 55 in September.
The sources said that Dibyo's position will be taken by his deputy, Brig. Gen. Hamami Nata.
According to a tentative schedule, Hamami will be installed on March 19 and Dibyo three days later
When contacted by telephone yesterday, Dibyo said that he had no comment on the news.
If the rumors on Dibyo's appointment are true, many observers say he deserves the promotion, given his remarkable performances to date.
Maj. Gen. (ret) Koesparmono Irsan, a former deputy to the National Police Chief for operational affairs, said Dibyo would live up to expectations.
"It's my hope and my feeling, that he will be the next number one of the Indonesian police force," Koesparmono, told the Post yesterday.
Born in Purwokerto, Central Java, Dibyo, 49, is a graduate of the Indonesian Police Academy (1968), National Police College (1975), Staff and Command School (1981) and the National Defense Institute (1992).
He took an ASEAN course covering drugs in 1983 and a senior course on crime investigation in 1986.
Dibyo spent his early police career in Surabaya, East Java. Then he spent eight years in North Sumatra, between 1978 and 1986.
After heading the crime investigation unit in Medan for three years, he was deputy chief of police of Tapanuli Tengah for over one year. He headed the crime investigation directorate of the North Sumatra provincial police for one year and commanded the Deli Serdang police precinct for three years.
From Deli Serdang, he was assigned as adjutant to President Soeharto for six years from 1986 to 1992. He was then appointed deputy chief of Nusa Tenggara police.
After two years in Nusa Tenggara, Dibyo was installed as Jakarta police deputy chief on Sept. 13 last year.
Only four months after being appointed as deputy chief for the Jakarta police, the one-star general was then promoted to the city police chief. He was promoted to major general at the same time.
During his 13-month tenure at the helm of the Jakarta police Dibyo has proven that he was not appointed only because he is a former adjutant to the President.
Many see that the affable, softly-spoken Dibyo, who has a great sense of humor but is firm when it comes to upholding discipline, has started many initiatives to build a strong, disciplined force of 15,000 officers in order to be able to properly serve and protect the 15.5 million inhabitants of Greater Jakarta.
During his leadership, for instance, a number of serious cases have been resolved through scientific investigations; methods which had previously been ignored by detectives.
The President, for instance, handed over a rare reward to the Bekasi police, which is under the supervision of Dibyo, following the success of the local police to solve almost immediately gang rape of a mother and her two teenage daughters.
Dibyo has also set up a rapid reaction detective squad, locally named the URC team, which is designed to be able to reach any crime scene promptly to protect the area.
Many other regional police offices have apparently set up similar teams.
To show their gratitude, some residents, including President Soeharto, have donated vehicles and other support to help the Jakarta police.
Dibyo, a father of three children, hates to see anyone break rules, a dangerous sign for his reputedly undisciplined staff.
"Discipline should be regarded above everything," he once told the Post. (bsr)