'Preman' given course on military discipline
'Preman' given course on military discipline
By K. Basrie
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 569 hoodlums began a two-week
training course on military discipline and skills yesterday,
under the guidance of senior police, military and civil service
personnel.
Of that number, 419 hoodlums, known locally as preman, are
undergoing the course at the city military regiment training
center in Condet, East Jakarta, while the remaining 150 are sent
to the State Police School in Lido, Sukabumi, West Java.
The course, jointly sponsored by various state bodies and
private institutions, was officially opened yesterday afternoon
by head of the city office of the Coordinating Agency for
National Stability, Maj. Gen. Wiranto, at the military training
center in Condet.
The ceremony was attended by a number of senior police and
military officers, state officials and businessmen, including
Deputy City Police Chief Brig. Gen. Hamami Nata, Deputy Governor
for Government Affairs Idroes and executives from private
agencies, such as the Indonesian Wood Panel Association.
After the ceremony, Hamami traveled to Lido, about 60
kilometers south of the city, to officially open a similar course
for the other group of preman.
The training programs at both places, scheduled to run until
April 6, include military drills to help improve discipline and
non-stop courses to give the detainees proper skills which might
help them to make a living later on.
According to Wiranto, the 569 preman are part of the 5,504
suspected street criminals arrested in and around Jakarta in a
massive joint operation carried out by the Coordinating Agency
for National Stability, which began in January.
A total of 307 hoodlums are eligible are to face trial for
offenses against the law, while the remaining 5,197 will be
released gradually, after being trained to help prevent them from
returning to their old habits, Hamami said. He did not give
details of their "old habits".
"We'll make an in-depth evaluation of this scheme, and if we
find that it works well, we'll apply it to other hoodlums," said
Wiranto, who is also the City Military Commander.
The preman undergoing the special training are of various ages
and educational backgrounds and include both married and
unmarried men. One thing that most of them have in common is that
they are unemployed.
Employment
According to the officials, arrangements have been made for
the "graduates" of the course to be employed by several
companies.
"It depends on your skills and talent," Wiranto told the
preman. "But, if you don't have any, we'll try to find other ways
later."
The key, he told the men, is "one of you will ever be happy
and feel comfortable in your whole life if you still want to be
preman."
"Do you agree with me?" asked the crowd.
"Yes, sir!" shouted the preman, wearing new military clothes
and new pairs of sports shoes.
"So, what is the punishment for those who leave this center,
later, and still act as preman?" Wiranto asked again.
"They'll be shot to death, sir!" the crowd replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, sir! It's our promise!," replied the strong voice of a
dark skinned man, his body covered with tattoos.
Wiranto, as well as the other captives, laughed.
The program is called Candradimuka Course I, after a legend
about a crater from which infants emerged, transformed into
adults.
"You will join the official military training for cadets here,
so learn many things from them to be good citizens," Wiranto told
the preman.
He praised highly the way the preman had lined up in neat
queues during the ceremony.
"I almost couldn't believe that you are all capable of making
good lines like us, even though you only learnt the drill today,"
Wiranto said.
Records will be kept of all graduates of the Candradimuka
course so that their activities in society can be easily
monitored later on.
Interviewed by The Jakarta Post, many of the hoodlums welcomed
the good-will of the authorities in holding such a program.
But some others said they had nothing to say about the course
because they had been wrongly arrested by the authorities.
"There are many of my friends here who are not preman," said
one of them.
A young man chimed in: "I was just sitting around when
suddenly a group of officers arrested me and here I am." (bsr)