Gus Dur backs plan to revamp intelligence system

Gus Dur backs plan to revamp intelligence system

HONG KONG (JP): President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid said
here on Saturday he was fully supportive of the plan to
reorganize the country's intelligence system.

Speaking during a refueling stop on his flight home from the
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Seoul, the President said
the decision was in particular aimed to avoid overlapping
functions between the State Intelligence Coordinating Agency
(Bakin) and the Indonesian Military's Strategic Intelligence
Board (Bais).

"There are many reasons for the planned reorganization of the
national intelligence system. First of all, so far, there has
been no clear job description between Bakin and Bais; so, there
is an overlapping in the duties of the two institutions," he said
when asked to comment on the government's plan to improve the
national intelligence's capacity.

Gus Dur said Bais would no longer handle political matters
while Bakin, whose name would be changed into the State
Intelligence Agency (BIN), would be given greater authority in
its coordinative function.

"So, we want Bais to handle military matters while Bakin will
cover other fields outside the military," he said.

He added all institutions handling state intelligence
functions would be subordinate to Bakin.

The President said that in the present situation, it was no
longer necessary for the intelligence agencies to tackle
investigations into individual citizens, especially those who
were allegedly involved in activities that could endanger order
and security.

"So far, the intelligence agencies handle citizens. It's no
longer necessary at present," he said.

Minister of Defense Mahfud M.D. previously spoke of his
intention of establishing a defense ministry intelligence network
to supply accurate information to the government.

The presidential plane which flew him and his entourage also
made a stop-over in Singapore, where Abdurrahman held a one-hour
meeting with former Singaporean prime minister Lee Kwan Yew at
Changi international airport.

There was no immediate disclosure of the results of the talks
which were off-limits to the news media.

Lee, who is credited with transforming affluent Singapore from
a tiny backwater economy, has said it would take Indonesia, "the
anchor member" of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN), several years to recover from its current problems.

But he has defended ASEAN's policy of non-interference in
members' affairs saying it was not practical to solve the
problems of another country "especially Indonesia."

Before heading to the ASEM in Seoul, Abdurrahman spent time in
Malaysia meeting with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

The government's plan to revamp the intelligence system has
sparked criticism and cautious reactions from many sides,
including military observers.

In Jakarta, House Speaker Akbar Tandjung called on the
government on Saturday to drop its plan because it would be
ineffective and inefficient.

"To me, it's not necessary for the government to set up a new
intelligence institution. It will be more efficient if the
existing intelligence agencies improve their functions," Akbar
said.

He said Bakin should be empowered to create strong
coordination with intelligence agencies in the military, National
Police and the Attorney General's Office to provide accurate
information and analysis for the government.

"A weak intelligence agency is not a matter of system but
management. The problem is how all the information and data
supplied by intelligence agencies is analyzed," he said.

Maj. Gen. Ferry Tinggogoy, a member of the Indonesian
Military/National Police faction at the House, said the
government should set rules of the game among the intelligence
agencies to avoid any overlapping in their tasks.

"The government must determine who or which institution is in
charge of the intelligence agencies and set their respective job
descriptions to avoid any duplication of tasks," he said.

He said further the government should also hike the defense
budget because developing a strong national intelligence system
would involve a lot of funds. (byg/rms)