Setara Institute: TNI Must Not Become a Shield for Corruptors

The Chairman of the Setara Institute, Hendardi, has urged the President to immediately intervene regarding alleged involvement of several TNI members in obstructing the legal process of a corruption case. According to him, if the allegations are proven, such actions are not merely an intervention in the legal process, but an abuse of the state defence institution to protect the interests of corruptors. Hendardi assessed that the alleged obstruction of justice against the Police’s Corruption Eradication Corps and the Metro Jaya Police’s Special Criminal Investigation Directorate is a very serious matter. This is especially true if the actions were taken to protect a party being investigated or suspected of involvement in a corruption case related to an official within the Attorney General’s Office. He stressed that no legislation grants authority to TNI members to obstruct investigations or searches conducted by law enforcement officers in accordance with legal provisions. Therefore, the involvement of military personnel in protecting parties suspected of corruption is considered a dangerous abuse of power. According to Hendardi, corruption is an extraordinary crime that erodes the foundations of the state. The situation becomes more dangerous when armed forces are used to secure the interests of corruptors, as it will breed collusion between power, impunity, and the state’s coercive force. The incident also highlights the risks of the military’s increasingly broad involvement in civilian spheres. In recent years, the TNI has been increasingly deployed in various matters outside the mandate of national defence, ranging from food security and education to law enforcement. Instead of strengthening governance, this expansion of roles is seen as opening opportunities for abuse of authority, creating jurisdictional conflicts, and providing space for the use of military force to protect interests unrelated to the task of national defence. Hendardi stated that the alleged obstruction of a corruption investigation is clear evidence that the blurring of boundaries between defence functions and civilian law enforcement can lead to intervention in the legal process. He called on the government and the House of Representatives to immediately evaluate various policies that open space for TNI involvement in civilian affairs and to return the institution to its constitutional mandate as a state defence tool under the principle of civilian supremacy. Beyond policy evaluation, Hendardi also asked the President to take concrete steps by ordering the TNI Commander to thoroughly investigate the alleged involvement of its members, disclose the results of the investigation to the public, and impose strict sanctions on anyone proven to have obstructed the legal process. He also urged the police not to retreat in handling the alleged obstruction of justice, ensuring that any actions hindering the legal process are dealt with according to the law so that it does not set a precedent that armed force can be used to intervene in corruption investigations. Hendardi added that allowing military personnel to become protectors of corruptors is tantamount to allowing the rule of law to be defeated by power politics that ignore the respective duties and functions of the Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the TNI, and the Corruption Eradication Commission.