'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)