Hindarto looks forward to more freedom

Hindarto looks forward to more freedom

By K. Basrie

JAKARTA (JP): Merdeka!!!

The word, which means freedom, is the instant response given by Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto to a question about how he views the completion of his term this week as chief of the Jakarta Police.

Hindarto, who said that being police chief of the Indonesian capital has been the toughest job throughout his 34 years career in the force, is now looking forward to spending more time with his family.

For sure, the 55-year old major general will also have more time to ride on his Harley Davidson motorbikes, one of his favorite pastimes.

Yesterday Hindarto agreed to a brief interview at his official residence on Jl. Tirtayasa in South Jakarta, to discuss his experiences as the Jakarta Police chief, and his future plans.

"The hardest task during my whole career is as the Jakarta police chief," he said.

But it wasn't the crime rate, the endless traffic congestion or the security and order of the city of nine million people which have been particularly difficult during his almost two year term.

The most difficult aspect of the job is to say "no" to "so- called friends and powerful individuals" who came asking favors from him, he said.

Of course he said no to favors which meant having to overstep his authority. And that is the most difficult part of the job, being able to say no without ruining the relationship.

"Each time I had to explain and make them understand about my position without offending them." He took a deep breath, and then added, "You know, Jakarta has a lot of bosses."

At least Hindarto can now put all that behind him when he steps down from the number one slot in the Jakarta Police this Friday, making way for Brig. Gen. Dibyo Widodo, the current deputy chief.

The Jakarta post also marks the peak of his career in the force. He will be assigned to National Police headquarters with no particular task, mainly preparing for his retirement. He already had his term of service extended when he reached the mandatory retirement age of 55 in March last year.

Now, the man who was born in Purworedjo, Central Jakarta, on March 16, 1939 intends to spend more time with his family.

Certainly with his wife, 52-year old Ninik Hanoko, and their three children, now all grown up -- Adhi Hendra Baskara Eka Nanda, 27, an MBA candidate from the University of San Francisco, Bima Yunia Jaya Dwi Nanda, 25, an engineering student at Trisakti University here and Chiquita Paramitha Tri Novida Dewi, 20, an economic student at Trisakti University.

But he promised he will put his immense experience and knowledge to good use even after he steps down. "I'll try to set up a plan to help victims of crimes," he confided. "But it's still only an idea at the moment."

Hindarto began his career in the police as a cadet on March 4, 1961 at the Police Academy in Sukabumi, West Java.

His first assignment was as a member of the Mobile Brigade.

He spent most of the early years of his career in various Jakarta police precincts, including long stints as a detective. Between 1979 and 1984, he served first as head of the East Jakarta precinct, then the Central Jakarta precinct and as head of the Jakarta Police Crime Investigation Directorate.

He also had a brief stint at National Police Headquarters as the head of general affairs in 1990, then as head of the Irian Jaya Police in 1991 and head of the Nusa Tenggara Police in the same year.

In March 1993, he was summoned back to Jakarta to head the police headquarters of the city he knew so well, inside out.

He is also among the rare few police officers with a long list of academic credentials, including those from overseas institutions.

He graduated from the police academy in 1970, in which his classmates included Gen. Banurusman Astrosemitro, the current chief of National Police. He graduated from the Police Staff and Command School in 1976 and the National Defense and Security Institute in 1988.

He joined the International Police Academy in Washington D.C. in 1969; and also took courses on the following: counter insurgency, from the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy instructors at the Great Lakes in 1970; crime prevention and treatment of offenders at the United Nations Far East Institute in Fu Chu, Japan, in 1975; police command at Britain's Police Staff and Command College in 1977; crime investigation in Tokyo in 1982; and police senior command in the U.K. in 1986.