Gen. Da'i sworn in as National Police chief

Gen. Da'i sworn in as National Police chief

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Abu Hanifah, The Jakarta Post,
Jakarta

General Da'i Bachtiar was sworn in as the new National Police
chief on Thursday amid protests by members of the House of
Representatives (DPR) pleading for more time to study his
capability to lead the police force.

In a brief ceremony attended by ministers, military officers
and other VIPs at the State Palace on Thursday, President
Megawati Soekarnoputri administered the oath of office to Da'i
and officially relieved Bimantoro of his duties.

Just a few hours earlier, the House approved his appointment,
despite protests from several parties saying that Da'i had gone
through a "special process" without the proper steps to examine
his capacity for the important position.

Da'i, who already holds the rank of general, was the sole
candidate from the president and according to the amended 1945
Constitution, the House should give its approval for the
appointment of national police chief.

The plenary meeting, for his approval at the House, was marred
by interruptions from legislators of the Reform faction who
reminded the House that it should be given more time to review
his career history and suitability for the position.

Da'i only went through one questioning session by the
legislators on Monday.

However, after only a few debates most factions at the House
agreed to approve the nomination on Thursday, while the State
Secretary had already prepared the swearing-in ceremony on a day
earlier.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung, who also attended the ceremony
said that the President thanked him for processing the Da'i
appointment smoothly, so the President could swear him in on
Thursday.

"In my meeting with the President, she thanked me for the
House approval for the new police chief," Akbar said, after few
minutes meeting with Megawati after the ceremony.

Da'i's appointment comes one day after Jakarta police arrested
Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, fugitive son of the former
president Soeharto, after a year-long of manhunt.

Da'i was tasked to immediately tighten discipline in the
police force and improve morale as well as concentrate on many
unsolved cases including the attack against the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI) in 1996.

"I will put all cases as my main priorities, and at the same
time conduct internal improvement of all police organizations,"
Da'i, who was still a three-star general as of Thursday morning,
said after the ceremony.

Previously, several factions at the House rejected his
nomination saying that he had a bad track record during his
tenure as police detective and his recent service as East Java
Police chief.

He is accused of human rights abuses as five pro-Abdurrahman
Wahid demonstrators were killed by his subordinates in a huge
demonstration in Bondowoso, East Java. They also revealed an
apparent lack of success when investigating a 1999 scandal
involving the misuse of billions of dollars in bank liquidity
funds supplied by the central bank.

Da'i who served as head of police detectives with the National
Police during the reform movement uprising in 1998 is under fire
for his nomination to replace Bimantoro.