Police are smugglers: Megawati
Police are smugglers: Megawati
Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang
President Megawati Soekarnoputri has instructed National Police
chief Gen. Da'i Bachtiar to take strong action against personnel
involved in smuggling activities.
"I have received many reports of police involvement in
smuggling activities. Pak Da'i, I ask you to put an end to such
practices," Megawati told the National Police chief.
She said it was ironic that police personnel were involved in
the illicit activity when the government was striving to curb the
practice.
"The police should be part of the community, so their presence
will be respected by the people," Megawati said in front of
hundreds of police academy students in Semarang, Central Java on
Saturday.
The President was visiting the police academy to launch a
regreening program.
Security personnel, both the police and military, have often
been accused of supporting smuggling activities to augment their
meager income.
Former Jakarta Police chief Comr. Gen. Sofjan Jacoeb was
accused of illegally issuing temporary vehicle ownership
documents for 11 Mercedes Benz cars smuggled from Singapore in
2001, when he was still South Sulawesi Police chief.
Sofyan was questioned several times, but was later let off the
hook after police investigators reduced his offense to violating
internal procedures in issuing car documents.
Military personnel and police have also been accused of
backing illegal trade in protected animals, estimated at being
worth US$1.5 billion a year.
Poor law enforcement, graft and collusion have allowed
smuggling to flourish in Indonesia, especially since the economic
crisis struck the country in 1997.
A survey sponsored by the Indonesian Importers Association
(Ginsi) earlier revealed that extensive smuggling and under-
invoicing practices had caused the state to suffer around Rp 30
trillion (US$3 billion) in potential revenue per year.
"I underline that protecting smuggling activities is wrong and
it should not happen again among police," she said.
In Semarang, she was greeted by around 500 protesters, mostly
students, who urged her and Vice President Hamzah Haz to step
down for their inability to push for reform.
The protesters were involved in a minor clash with police, in
which three students were beaten up and five others arrested.
During the visit, Megawati was accompanied by several Cabinet
ministers and her husband Taufik Kiemas. From Semarang, her
entourage left for Bandung, West Java to attend the celebration
of the 30th anniversary of her Indonesian Democratic Party of
Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).