Military and police asked to be thrifty

Military and police asked to be thrifty

Moch N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Given their limited funding, both the Indonesian Military
(TNI) and the National Police have been called on to adopt
stringent budget policies that prioritize spending on national
defense and public security.

Military observer Indria Samego and legislator Yasril Ananta
Baharuddin of the Golkar Party stated on Sunday that the TNI and
the National Police needed to efficiently identify the minimum
funds necessary for improving their professionalism, and reduce
non-strategic expenditure.

"We all know that the TNI and Police only receive a limited
amount of state funds. But this is no reason for them to back up
either legal or illegal businesses," Indria, of the National
Institute of Sciences (LIPI), told the Jakarta Post.

He called on businesspeople to also stop their habit of
requesting military and police officers to support their
businesses.

"Where the TNI and Police are allowed to run businesses, they
have to establish companies in accordance with market rules and
be barred from receiving special privileges," he said.

Indria and Yasril were commenting on President Megawati
Soekarnoputri's statement on Saturday that both the TNI and the
National Police should improve their professionalism without
resorting to raising their own funds to finance operations,
despite the minimal budget provided by the government.

Megawati asserted that the state was obliged to cover funding
requirements for both the TNI and National Police. Thus, she
said, the TNI and the National Police had to stop raising their
own funds to finance their routine operations.

In his response, TNI chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto expressed
skepticism that given its minimal budget the military could
develop as a professional and prestigious force.

The military and police have been running various businesses
for more than five decades in order to cover their funding
requirements in the light of the pressures on the state budget.

They established foundations, with some officers named
directors or commissioners, while others reportedly backed
illegal businesses such as drugs, gambling, prostitution,
poaching and logging.

In many cases, the involvement of the military and police in
business has brought about rivalry. In illegal businesses, these
rivalries have led to clashes, killing soldiers and civilians,
such as during the recent clashes in Namo Sira-sira, near Binjai,
North Sumatra.

Yasril of the House of Representatives 's Commission I on
political and security affairs said the TNI and the National
Police must prioritize expenditure on vehicle and equipment
maintenance, and improving their skills.

"At this moment, do not demand any sharp budget increases.
We're all in a difficult situation, so it is also a must for the
TNI and the National Police to be thrifty and allocate their
funds for essential matters," he said.

Indria went on to say that the government had to be committed
to increasing the TNI and National Police budgets over the coming
years, and eliminating non-essential posts and corruption.

He cited non-essential funding for political officials, which
reached Rp 1 billion (US$112,000) per person and should be
reduced.

Meanwhile, Yasril said the House would still tolerate the TNI
and police carrying on legal businesses through their
foundations, subject to strict requirements, until the government
could fully finance their needs.

But, there should be supervision from the House as well as
internal supervision to avoid any irregularities, he said.

"In the past, there were many cases where the foundations were
misused by senior officers to engage in their own personal
business affairs. The profits didn't go to the foundation, and
thus the welfare of military and police personnel did not
increase," he said.

The foundations also needed to be transparent and be properly
audited by public accountants, according to Yasril.

"All these activities can continue until the government is
able to fully finance the TNI and the National Police. They must
close the foundations once the government can fulfill its
obligations," he added.