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)