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).