Flashback on the Ministry of Police Issue, Affirmed Not to Be Established

The Commission for Accelerating Police Reform has emphasised that the police institution remains under the President. This affirmation is one of the recommendations submitted by the Commission for Accelerating Police Reform to President Prabowo Subianto on Tuesday (5/5/2026). “Regarding the position of Polri, it remains as it is now, with Polri directly under the president,” said the Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections, who is also a commission member, Yusril Ihza Mahendra, after the commission’s meeting with Prabowo at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/5/2026) afternoon. Before the submission of these recommendations, rumours circulated at the end of 2025 that Polri would be under the Ministry of Security or a Ministry of Police. How did the issue of the Ministry of Police emerge? Here is a summary from Kompas.com: Previously, several TNI retirees proposed the establishment of a special ministry to oversee Polri, such as a Ministry of Security or a similar model. This proposal was presented during an audience with the Commission for Accelerating Police Reform at the Police Science College (PTIK) in Jakarta on Wednesday (19/11/2025). “Well, the police, because of the separation from the TNI, indeed there isn’t one, because in the constitution there is the Ministry of Defence. The police don’t have one. So, the idea emerged of how about creating a Ministry of Security, one idea,” said the Chairman of the Commission for Accelerating Police Reform, Jimly Asshiddiqie, in a press conference at the Police Science College in Jakarta on Wednesday. However, he assessed that the use of the term ‘under’ a ministry often leads to misperceptions, both in the TNI and Polri environments. Jimly emphasised that in Indonesia’s state design, all state institutions, including the TNI and Polri, are in principle directly under the President as the holder of governmental power. “The TNI is not subordinate to the Minister of Defence. The TNI Commander is directly under the Supreme Commander, but coordinates with the Ministry of Defence on matters such as budget and recruitment, for example,” said the former Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court. In a press release from the Coordinating Ministry for Law and Human Rights on Wednesday (21/1/2026), it was stated that some parties desire the police structure to remain as it is, while other ideas propose a ministry to oversee Polri, similar to how the Ministry of Defence oversees the TNI.