Megawati urged to sack Bimantoro for inconsistency
JAKARTA (JP): Two outspoken legislators called on President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Tuesday to sack National Police chief Gen. Surojo Bimantoro for his alleged inconsistency in applying a decree on the role of the National Police.
"The public hope for Bimantoro to improve the police's tarnished image is fading because of his inconsistency with the decree," J. Sahetapy, a legislator of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan), said, referring to People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Decree No. 7/2000 on the role of the Indonesian Military and the police.
He said the President should not extend Bimantoro's term of office as the latter would enter his mandatory pension age of 55 next month.
Speaking before attending a hearing between the police and the House's special committee on the deliberation of a bill on the National Police, Sahetapy said that the inconsistency showed that such an official could not be expected to repair the police's tarnished image.
Sahetapy, who is also a professor of law at the University of Airlangga in Surabaya, East Java, said many sides were disappointed by Bimantoro's decision to establish a military- style honorary council to investigate eight middle-ranking police officers for their alleged defiant actions against his policy.
"To be consistent with the decree, Bimantoro should have brought the eight officers to the district court to prove whether they were guilty or not," he said.
"Bimantoro's other disappointing action was his resistance to his suspension by former president Abdurrahman Wahid. His promotion to the top position in the National Police is void as well because it did not gain approval from the House of Representatives," he said.
Decree No. 7/2000 regulates that the president has the authority to replace the National Police chief with consent from the House and to place the police under the jurisdiction of civilian law.
Sahetapy also criticized the police for the whereabouts of fugitive Hutomo "Tommy" Mandala Putra, former president Soeharto's youngest son and the recent death of retired Army officer Sgt. Wiyono, a key witness to Tommy's whereabouts and the killing of Justice Safiuddin Kartasasmita.
"I'm not surprised the police are unable to enforce the law because their leader is inconsistent with the regulations. The police must bear in mind that all these cases have tarnished their image and that is why I call on the President to dismiss him," he said, citing he knew Bimantoro well, had no personal problems with him.
Effendy Choirie, a legislator of the National Awakening Party (PKB), shared Sahetapy's remarks, saying that Bimantoro was not only inconsistent but also violated the MPR decree.
"The establishment of the honor council to try the eight middle-ranking police officers is against the MPR decree. Both the President and the House should take stern action against Bimantoro," he said.
"The House must call on the President to sack Bimantoro for violating the decree," he said.
Agun Gunandjar, a legislator of the Golkar Party, urged the National Police to be wise enough in handling the case of the eight police officers in a bid to help calm down the heated situation in the police's organization.
"It's better for Bimantoro to be wise so as to avoid too much unrest caused by the case because the police need to be focused for them to carry out their numerous tasks," he said.
Despite the criticism, however, Insp. Gen. Didi Widayadi, spokesman for the National Police defended the establishment of the honor council to investigate the eight officers, saying it was in line with the police's code of ethics.
"The honor council was established to seek explanations from the officers and to provide recommendations to the police leadership on what measures should be taken against them," he said.
Didi, who accompanied Bimantoro in the meeting with the House's special committee, said that the eight officers would be brought to the tribunal if the honor council made such a recommendation. (rms)