Setara Institute: TNI Must Not Become a Shield for Corruptors
The chairman of the Setara Institute’s National Council, Hendardi, has urged the President to intervene immediately over allegations that a number of TNI members obstructed law enforcement in a corruption case. According to him, if the allegations are proven, the act is not merely interference 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 law enforcement against the Corruption Crime Task Force (Kortas Tipikor) of the National Police and the Special Crimes Directorate of Polda Metro Jaya is an extremely serious matter. This is especially so if the action was taken to protect parties under investigation or suspected of involvement in a corruption case connected to an official within the Attorney General’s Office.
“If it is true that such action was taken to protect parties under investigation or suspected of involvement in a corruption case connected to an official within the Attorney General’s Office, then what is being put on public display is not only interference in the law enforcement process, but the use of the state defence institution as a shield for the interests of corruptors,” Hendardi said in a statement on Thursday (9 July).
He emphasised that no law or regulation grants TNI members the authority to obstruct investigations or searches carried out by law enforcement officials in accordance with legal provisions. Therefore, the involvement of military personnel in protecting parties suspected of corruption must be regarded as a dangerous form of abuse of power.
According to Hendardi, corruption is an extraordinary crime that gnaws at the foundations of the state. The situation becomes more dangerous when armed forces are used to secure the interests of perpetrators of corruption, as it will breed collusion between power, impunity, and the coercive force of the state.
The incident, he continued, also demonstrates the risk posed by the military’s ever-widening involvement in civilian spheres. In recent years, the TNI has increasingly been deployed in various affairs beyond its state defence mandate, ranging from food security and education to public order and various other governmental functions.
Rather than strengthening governance, this expansion of roles is considered to open opportunities for abuse of authority, create jurisdictional conflicts, and generate space for the use of military force to protect interests unrelated to the task of state defence.
Hendardi said the alleged obstruction of a corruption investigation is tangible proof that the blurring of boundaries between the defence function and civilian law enforcement can lead to interference in the legal process.
Therefore, the government and the House of Representatives (DPR) are urged to promptly evaluate policies that open space for TNI involvement in civilian affairs and to return the institution to its constitutional mandate as an instrument of state defence under the principle of civilian supremacy.
In addition to a policy evaluation, Hendardi also asked the President to take concrete steps by ordering the TNI Commander to thoroughly investigate allegations of members’ involvement, open the results of the inquiry to the public, and impose firm sanctions on anyone proven to have obstructed the legal process.
“The President must be responsible and act immediately by ordering the TNI Commander to thoroughly investigate allegations of members’ involvement, open the results of the inquiry to the public, and ensure that every member proven to have obstructed the legal process faces firm criminal and disciplinary sanctions,” he said.
At the same time, Hendardi stressed that the police must not back down in handling the alleged obstruction of justice. According to him, every action that hampers law enforcement must be processed in accordance with the rules so that it does not set a precedent whereby the armed forces can be used to intervene in corruption investigations.
He also asked the President to prohibit the use of TNI personnel to obstruct law enforcement in the alleged corruption case believed to involve an official of the Attorney General’s Office.
According to Hendardi, this incident serves as an alarm for the government about the dangers of the militarisation of civilian spheres. The President is asked to ensure the TNI fully returns to its state defence function and is not dragged into practices that protect the interests of individuals, groups, or elites facing the law.
He added that allowing the military to become a protector of corruptors is tantamount to allowing the rule of law to be defeated by the politics of power, which disregards the primary roles of the National Police, the Attorney General’s Office, the TNI, and the KPK in accordance with their respective duties and functions.
The TNI has affirmed that security at the residence of the Deputy Attorney General for Special Crimes (Jampidsus) was provided based on an official request from the Attorney General’s Office.