Post of TNI chief should not be filled by Army only: House
Post of TNI chief should not be filled by Army only: House
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
In order to ensure fairness within the Indonesian Military (TNI)
forces, several factions in the House of Representatives proposed
on Wednesday that the TNI chief's position should be alternated
regularly between the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Since the country's independence in 1945, the position of the
TNI commander has mostly been occupied by Army generals, which
has created jealousy among officers from the Navy and Air Force.
Only Adm. Widodo A.S. broke the monopoly in 1999 when he was
appointed by then President Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, as the
first TNI chief from the Navy.
The current military chief, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto who was
named by President Megawati Soekarnoputri to succeed Widodo, is
again from the Army.
The Golkar Party, the United Development Party (PPP) and the
Indonesian Nationhood Unity (KKI) faction said the TNI bill,
being deliberated at the House, should give an equal chance to
the Army, Navy and Air Force to take the top leadership of the
military.
"The appointment of the TNI chief should be based on quality
and capability. It can be from the Army, Navy or Air Force. This
provision should be set out in the bill," PPP faction spokesman
Nadhier Muhammad said.
The Golkar faction raised a similar call, saying the bill
should include a stipulation that the TNI chief must not be
occupied by a general from the same force for two consecutive
periods.
Also, the KKI faction suggested that the TNI be headed by a
commander hailing from the three branches on a rotational basis.
Article 14 (1) of the government-sponsored TNI bill only
states that the TNI be headed by a commander.
However, Hari Sabarno, the interim security minister, who
represented the government in the deliberation rejected calls to
explicitly put the word "alternately" in the military bill.
"Of course, the president will consider it carefully before
appointing someone as the TNI chief. Besides, the appointment
will also be consulted on with the House through a so-called fit-
and-proper test (for candidates)," he said.
Yet, the minister said that a clause suggesting the president
take it into consideration before appointing a new TNI commander,
could be included in the bill's explanatory section.
Crescent Star Party (PBB) faction spokesman Stein Gumay said
that in order to maintain TNI's professionalism, the president
should not consult with the House before naming the commander.
"If the president is required to consult with the House, the
candidate for TNI chief will approach major parties to get
support. Therefore, he or she will get involved in politics," he
said.
Hari said the president must follow the proper procedures,
which are already mandated in the amended Constitution.
Regarding state defense, the National Awakening Party (PKB)
faction proposed that several defense-oriented territorial
commands (Kodahan) be revived, but with joint involvement of
combat troops from the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Minister Hari, who is a retired three-star Army general, said
the PKB's proposal was the ideal, but stressed that it would be
difficult to implement it.
If the call for the revival of some Kodahan was approved,
ideally there should be around 11 throughout the country, he
said.
"We used to have provincial commands called Kowilhan. They
were dissolved because they were deemed to be ineffective and
inefficient," Hari said.