Payments, not professionalism, leads to promotion

Payments, not professionalism, leads to promotion

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A senior journalist once said, jokingly, that the Indonesian
Military (TNI) was a democratic institution.

He was commenting on conflicting statements made by TNI's
leadership on the Aceh issue. An Army general said a couple
months back that TNI supported the government's decision to hold
a dialog with the separatist Free Aceh Movement (GAM) on
condition that GAM accepted autonomy. The general, however, ruled
out a cease-fire proposal.

The same day, a 3-star general said he had agreed to a cease-
fire proposal. Then came a statement from the top TNI leadership
urging GAM to cooperate with TNI to eliminate "fake GAM" groups.

Of course, the journalist was being cynical when he said the
conflicting statements were proof that TNI was a democratic
institution, because differences of opinion seem to be allowed.

Of a more serious concern than mere conflicting statements is
the public display of a deteriorating leadership within the TNI.
Little wonder that the airborne troops in Binjai failed to obey
an order from their commander to remain in their barracks
following the first clash with policemen in Langkat last
Saturday.

No one would call this breakdown of the command structure a
display of democracy at work, wherein troops are entitled to make
their own decisions.

Poor leadership is just one of many serious problems faced by
the TNI as a result of unprofessional, if not totally illegal,
promotion and placement methods.

An Army captain once complained that only those who could turn
in huge sums of money or other items from their illicit business
activities or others to their superiors could get promoted.

The UUD, the Indonesian acronym for the Constitution (Undang-
Undang Dasar) has become known mockingly as the Ujung-Ujungnya
Duit (It's money that matters).

Indeed, collusion, corruption and nepotism (KKN) is rife
within the TNI. Many officers occupy important positions due to
their closeness to the TNI leadership regardless of their
capabilities. As a result, they do not deliver good results and
fail to command respect from their subordinates.

In 1998, for example, 131 members of an infantry battalion
deserted their unit, with their weapons, in protest of poor
leadership by their commander. Their commander was promptly
"rewarded" with a move to a strategic position at a military
command, where he was put in charge of career development. He was
later moved to the Army Headquarters, also occupying the same
position that handles placement and promotion of Army officers.
One can only imagine the consternation felt by his colleagues and
subordinates about how things developed for him.

The message that was sent in effect said: You can fail, but
with the right connections you can still get a promotion, even an
important job that determines the fate of others.

The promotion of incapable officers has discouraged those who
strive for promotion by being the most professional. Violations
are rife because many commanders fail to earn the respect of
their peers and subordinates. Soldiers live by example and when
they know their commanders are not worthy of their respect and
loyalty, the performance of whole units are at stake.

Soldiers are the TNI's most important asset and it is the
responsibility of the TNI leadership to nurture them. A fair
promotion and punishment system is therefore urgently required to
restore confidence in leaders and the institution.