Mahfud MD After Submitting Police Reform Study: President is Also Keen

Member of the Commission for Accelerating Police Reform (KPRP) Mahfud MD stated that President Prabowo Subianto has requested arrangements for a follow-up meeting after receiving the study results containing points of recommendations for Police reform, on Tuesday (5/5).

Mahfud said that, in terms of duties, the KPRP has finished after submitting those recommendation results. This is because, from the start, the KPRP’s status was an ad hoc body with a single task.

“This Commission is ad hoc in nature. Ad hoc means working on a specific matter until the determined time,” said Mahfud during a press conference in the Dharmawangsa area, Jakarta, on Wednesday (6/5).

“Basically, there’s no more work, especially since the report is about three thousand pages and it’s done. Therefore, yesterday we also finished,” he added.

However, when submitting the report results, the President asked that the team not be disbanded immediately. Mahfud said the President wants there to be issues discussed moving forward.

“But the President is keen too, ‘Oh, is it already going to end?’ he said. ‘We’ll have another meeting, we’ll arrange it again, there are many interesting discussions.’ But the point is, we’re done,” said Mahfud.

However, he continued, the Commission’s reform work going forward will be entirely handed over to the President and the Ministry of State Secretariat (Kemensesneg).

“But if the main task as ad hoc is already finished. Later we’ll be called again for, yes, further discussions. The President said it’s important to arrange it like this, later the State Secretariat will arrange our discussions,” he said.

Meanwhile, member of the KPRP, retired Police Commissioner General Ahmad Dofiri, revealed that going forward, they will oversee the implementation of the recommendation results by the Police internally. Because, that implementation cannot be completed immediately in the near term.

Thus, the process must continue to be monitored, especially regarding the issuance of several regulations, whether in the form of presidential instructions or presidential decisions.

“Whether in the form of presidential instructions or presidential decisions, yesterday he [the President] conveyed that when reported, it will be made into a presidential instruction or presidential decision so that these recommendations are implemented or followed up internally in the Police,” he said.

In total, there are six points of recommendations in the Police reform proposed to the President.

In addition to affirming the position of the Police under the President, other points include strengthening the National Police Commission, the appointment of the Police Chief, Police assignments in civilian institutions, strengthening managerial and institutional aspects, and revisions to several regulations within the Police’s internal scope in the form of 8 Police Regulations (Perpol) and 24 Police Chief Regulations (Perkap).