Militia

Militia

From Media Indonesia

The establishment of a civilian militia (military-trained
civilians), will, in my opinion, only add to the problems of our
beloved Indonesia. It is well known that the people are easily
angered now. So, it is not precluded that a new problem may arise
between the militia and the general public.

The events on Nov. 13 showed that security personnel/Armed
Forces members, who have been trained in a normal span of time,
were not entirely up to the task of containing the people's
emotions. What about the militia, who will be trained in a very
short time?

I think people nowadays get angry easily and tend to plunder
and vandalize because many of them have no income and food prices
are high and unaffordable. In other words, the people are hungry.
Therefore, the funds for the militia would be better used to help
small enterprises, so that the people would have an income and
food prices would decrease.

For security purposes, the most suitable is the Armed Forces
themselves, for the simple reason they have been prepared for it.
In order to attract students to join the Armed Forces, especially
the Police, presentations could be organized in senior high
schools. This has rarely been done.

I am presenting this letter as input for senior government
officials and policymakers.

ARINDRA D. PUTRI

Jakarta