Former chief proposes new police watchdog

JAKARTA (JP): Prominent former national police chief Awaloedin Djamin on Wednesday suggested the establishment of a special commission to supervise the performance of police across the country.

Speaking at the launch of his new book, Menuju Polri Mandiri Yang Professional (Heading toward a Professional Independent Police Force), Awaloedin said the police commission should closely follow the Japanese model, the role of which is to assist the head of government to supervise the performance of the police.

"The commission would watch over the National Police force so that the officers would not act beyond their duties," he said.

Awaloedin, also a former Indonesian ambassador to Germany, did not raise relevant issues such as who would sit on the body and how members of the commission would be elected.

Awaloedin, who is a familiar figure to senior police officers in many countries overseas, proposed the idea in reference to President B.J. Habibie's recent comment that regional police chiefs would in the future be appointed by provincial legislative councils and be answerable to governors, rather than the President.

Habibie told a working meeting of governors, district heads, and mayors at Bina Graha presidential office last Saturday that over time, police uniforms would not be identical throughout the territory, but would be determined by the regional administrations and their legislative councils.

But Awaloedin, dubbed by many local police officers as "The Reform Father of the Indonesian Police Force", opposed the president's idea, saying that except for the United States, no country in the world endorsed such autonomy measures for their regional police.

"The Philippines and Japan tried (to impose such a system) and failed. Even the Federal Republic of Germany has one national police force," he said.

Hasnan Habib, a retired three-star military general and former ambassador to the U.S., said provincial heads should act as the chief of operational affairs of local police.

"But on the national scale, the role of the supervisor for the police would still be assigned to the national police chief," he said.

The book launch was attended by senior police and military figures and other observers, including legal expert Loebby Loeqman, former army strategic commander Kemal Idries, and Jakarta Police chief Maj. Gen. Noegroho Djajoesman.

They all agreed that independency was the keyword for a first rate and upstanding police force.

Awaloedin's book is a collection of his speeches made on various occasions, including seminars, since 1997.(03)