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.