Major reshuffle to clean up police force: President

Major reshuffle to clean up police force: President

SEOUL, South Korea (JP): President Abdurrahman Wahid said the
recent major reshuffle of high and middle-ranking officers,
including the Jakarta Police chief, was part of the government's
efforts to clean up the law enforcement agency.

"Pak Mulyono is a very strict and honest gentleman and the new
East Java police chief is too," Abdurrahman said, referring to
the new Jakarta and East Java Police chiefs Brig. Gen. Mulyono
Sulaiman and Brig. Gen. Sutanto.

According to the President, who is in Seoul to attend the
Summit for Asian-European leaders, their predecessors, Brig. Gen.
Nurfaizi and Brig. Gen. Da'i Bachtiar, were replaced because they
were "unwilling to uphold the law".

"Officers, who seem to be reluctant, will now be directly
replaced. We hope that these kinds of measures will bring about
substantial change in our country," Abdurrahman said, but did not
elaborate further.

Mulyono, who is currently the logistics deputy assistant at
the National Police Headquarters, and Sutanto, who is the North
Sumatra Police chief, were stated in a decree signed by the
National Police Chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro as replacements to
Jakarta Police chief Nurfaizi and East Java Police chief Da'i.

The reshuffling of the two top positions in the police force
was part of a major reorganization which included the appointment
of Insp. Gen. Pandji Atmasudirdja as National Police deputy
chief, a post which has been vacant since Sept. 23 following the
promotion of Bimantoro.

The changes also included the replacement of chiefs and deputy
chiefs of several provinces, including South Sumatra, East
Kalimantan, and Irian Jaya.

Nurfaizi is to be assigned to head the National Police
Training Center in Jakarta, while Da'i is to be appointed as
governor of the National Police Academy in Semarang, Central
Java.

Shortly after the announcement on Tuesday, National Police
spokesman Brig. Gen. Saleh Saaf denied that the reshuffle was
hasty and that Nurfaizi was being replaced due to the arrest of
President Abdurrahman Wahid's former masseur Suwondo, who is a
suspect in the multibillion rupiah State Logistics Agency (Bulog)
scandal.

Although the swearing-in ceremonies are to be held within two
weeks, the appointed officers would take their new posts as of
Tuesday. (byg/bsr)