Megawati tells police to brush up tarnished image

Megawati tells police to brush up tarnished image

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri demanded the National Police
carry out their mandated responsibility to maintain law and order
in the country properly in a bid to improve their tarnished
image.

Marking the 56th anniversary of the police force, Megawati
reminded them that the police must use the law as their weapon
instead of resorting to violence in solving cases.

"A proper attitude is required from each police officer as a
law enforcer. Law, not the use of force, should be your weapon,"
she said in her address to thousands of police officers on
Monday.

She underlined that professionalism was the key to fulfilling
the public's demand for supremacy of the law in the country.

However, hours after the speech, angry police beat up four
journalists at the House of Representatives compound, not far
from the venue of the police celebrations at the Senayan eastern
parking lot.

The incident only served to highlight the police's poor
record, which includes the role of police top brass in luxury car
smuggling links and the scandalous escape of former president
Soeharto's son, Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra.

The public raised their eyebrows when they learned that Tommy
had ridiculed the country's law enforcers by telling the court
that he had consulted police officers each time he visited his
father's house during his escape last year.

A recent survey conducted by the country's largest daily,
Kompas, showed that each year the public's faith in the police
had continued to drop.

Some 56.3 percent of 815 respondents considered police
involvement in legal problems did not help to provide a solution
but made matters worse. Last year's survey of 905 people had a
figure of 43 percent.

The most recent poll showed that 74.4 percent of the
respondents agreed that it was incredibly annoying when dealing
with the police, up from last year's 60.3 percent.

As if to summarize those facts, Megawati underlined that
improving the mentality of each police offer was the "greatest
challenge the police have to deal with, as it largely affects the
public's opinion".

The President further reminded the police of their new role as
a security force, especially in dealing with separatist movements
across the country.

"Like or not, it is a responsibility the police have to
handle," she said.

The President also issued eight executive orders to the force,
which included anticipating transnational crimes such as
terrorism.

The President called on the police to use wisely their limited
budget and not to blame financial shortages for their failure to
carry out their responsibilities properly.

Answering the challenges, National Police chief Gen. Da'i
Bachtiar said that he had set up a new structure for the police,
including the revival of the National Police deputy chief
position.

"We are also preparing courses to improve the quality of
police officers," he said after the celebration, adding that he
would continue efforts to recruit more officers so as to reach
the ideal ratio of police officers to members of the public.

The police chief also promised that within a month he would
investigate the truth behind Tommy's statement on police
cooperation in his escape.

The celebration, attended by Cabinet ministers and the
Indonesian Military (TNI) top brass, featured a display of police
methods when handling mass protests.