New police HQs plan hailed

New police HQs plan hailed

JAKARTA (JP): House members and several professionals have
hailed a plan to soon replace the 35-year-old Jakarta
Metropolitan Police headquarters with a modern high-rise complex.

Contacted over the past few days, House members Aisyah Aminy
and Theo Syafei, lawyer Amir Syamsuddin, criminologist Adrianus
Meliala, social observer Koesparmono Irsan, a police officer and
a senior police-beat reporter welcomed the plan and hoped the new
complex could motivate city police personnel to improve their
professionalism.

"We definitely hail the plan because the police force in a
metropolitan city such as Jakarta badly needs such a building to
prepare for future developments and complicated cases," said
House member Aisyah Aminy from United Development Party (PPP)
faction.

However, she said, people hope the new building could inspire
the force's high-ranking officers to continue improving the
welfare and professionalism of police personnel, in order to
improve their public image.

The old Jakarta Police headquarters near the Semanggi
cloverleaf intersection will soon be replaced with a modern
complex comprising a 10-story main building, two 23-story towers,
two eight-story buildings, a three-story auditorium and an eight-
story officers' apartment building.

Except for the apartments, all the buildings will share an
inner courtyard. Each building will have a three-floor basement.
By way of comparison, the only "high-rise" at the current
headquarters complex is the six-story main building where senior
officials have their offices.

If everything goes well, the project might begin shortly after
the general election in May and is scheduled to be completed in
two years, according to National Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dibyo
Widodo.

The project, to be completed by PT Keraton Plaza Saranatama
based on a design by PT Encona Engineering Inc., will be
developed by PT Mandala Pratama Permai, which last year signed a
land barter agreement with the Jakarta Metropolitan Police.

Under the agreement, the developer -- owned by businessman
Hutomo Mandala Putra -- will acquire ownership of 6.5 hectares of
the total 14.5-hectare tract on which the City Police
headquarters now stands.

Maintenance

Some sources, however, expressed uncertainty over whether the
government could finance the planned headquarters' maintenance
expenses.

"It's fair enough for Jakarta to have a police headquarters
which will be more sophisticated than any other headquarters in
this country. But are the Jakarta police ready to finance the
monthly maintenance expenses of such a modern building?"
commented House member Maj. Gen. Theo Syafei from the Armed
Forces faction.

Lawyer Amir Syamsuddin said it was "good news that the Jakarta
police headquarters will be rebuilt and modernized at its current
location, meaning that the police will remain close to the
public".

Amir suggested the plan should be in line with the agenda to
improve the performance of the city's police force.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Koesparmono Irsan, who is now rector of
Bhayangkara University, said: "For me, it is okay, as long as the
Jakarta police could further improve their services to the public
and the government could provide adequate financial support for
the maintenance of the sophisticated buildings."

Criminologist Adrianus Meliala from the University of
Indonesia commented: "There's nothing wrong with the police
force's acquisition of a modern building, but we must explain to
the public that the presence of a new headquarters is not a
guarantee that we'll get a police force with a more favorable
attitude toward their work.

"For example, look at the South Jakarta and Tangerang police,
whose headquarters are better than the average police precincts
in this country. In spite of this, their job performance levels
are still average," said Adrianus.

Koesparmono, a former deputy chief for operational affairs
with the National Police who is also a member of the National
Commission on Human Rights, advised the Jakarta police to
exercise great care in the process of temporarily moving when
construction begins.

"If they said they would move to the nearby Granadha building,
do they think the temporary building could accommodate all the
public services? Where would they put the prisoners?" he said.

Bekasi Police Chief Lt. Col. Alex Bambang Riatmodjo said:
"It's the right time for Jakarta to have a modern building. But I
wonder whether the personnel, most of whom still live in poor
housing, could be free from mental shock when working at such a
sophisticated headquarters. It could influence their job
performance."

Reporter Adhi Robert Ksp from the Kompas daily agreed with the
other respondents, but for a different reason.

"The current 35-year-old building is no longer proper to be
maintained because it looks more like a museum than a
metropolitan police headquarters." (bsr)