Juwono gets new post on GBC Malindo

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Defense Juwono Sudarsono is the new head of the Indonesian side of a special joint committee formed by Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to address border issues.

Juwono officially took over the position from Indonesian Military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto during a ceremony here on Thursday.

The General Border Committee Malaysia Indonesia, or GBC Malindo, set up in 1972 following the end of an armed conflict between the two countries, is a forum that allows the countries to discuss border issues.

The decision to put Juwono in charge of the Indonesian side was made during the 33th meeting of the GBC Malindo in December 2004. The Malaysian side is now led by Minister of Defense Najib Abdul Razak.

Endriartono said the change was made because the cooperation between the two countries had developed into more "bilateral relations involving politics and economy".

"The TNI is deemed inappropriate to lead (the Indonesian side) at the GBC, although it will continue to guard the borders between Malaysia and Indonesia," he said.

During the 32-year rule of former president Soeharto, the Indonesian Military was more powerful than the Ministry of Defense. During the Soeharto era, the military chief was usually also the minister of defense.

Following the resignation of Soeharto and the reform movement in 1998, the country introduced a series of measures to reform the military and focus it solely on defense.

GBC Malindo is managed by the Staff Planning Committee, which meets twice a year. The meetings discuss and evaluate the committee's activities such as joint military exercises.

The committee is scheduled to hold a meeting in Malaysia in December to discuss the revision of the 1984 Security Arrangement, which is the basis of this cooperation between the two countries.