Taruna Nusantara grads top the in ABRI academy

JAKARTA (JP): When President Soeharto inducts 932 graduates of the Armed Forces Academy at the Merdeka Palace tomorrow, one thing will stand out: Most of them are Taruna Nusantara alumni, a high school in Magelang which combines academic excellence with strict military discipline.

The first batch of graduates of Taruna Nusantara, which opened in 1990, not only made up the majority of the new young officers, but they were also at the top of their classes, Maj. Gen. Purwantono, the commandant-general of the Armed Forces Academy (AKABRI), said yesterday.

"These are graduates of the 1993 class of Taruna Nusantara," he said, reported Antara.

"Four officers who will receive the Adhi Makayasa awards are also graduates of Taruna Nusantara high school," he said.

The awards, given to the best graduates in their respective academies, go to Lucky Avianto of the Military Academy, Daru Cahyo Sumirat of the Navy Academy, Tek Wastum of the Air Force Academy and Johny Eddizon Isir of the Police Academy.

Taruna Nusantara is the brainchild of former Armed Forces chief and defense minister Gen. L.B. Moerdani and is a joint venture between the Armed Forces and Taman Siswa, one of Indonesia's oldest and most established educational institutions.

It produced its first graduates in 1993. While joining the Armed Forces seemed the likely choice, many of them also went to work in the private sector or the government.

Purwantono said President Soeharto would induct 330 graduates of the Military Academy, 148 graduates of the Navy Academy, 152 of the Air Force Academy, and 302 graduates of the Police Academy. They will all be inducted as second lieutenants.

This year's graduates include a greater number of officers from Irian Jaya and East Timor, Indonesia's two youngest provinces.

Johny Eddizon Isir, top of the class in the Police Academy, is from Irian Jaya, Maj. Gen. Pamudji, governor of the Police Academy, explained.

Three other Irianese and four East Timorese were among the fresh graduates, Pamudji said.

Purwantono said that graduates of these academies were trained not only in military matters, but also in other disciplines.

"Graduates of AKABRI are groomed according to their jobs, which includes social as well as defense and security tasks," he said, adding that at least 40 percent of their time in the academy was allocated to the study of non-military disciplines.

By the time they completed their study at AKABRI, these graduates would have collected between 70 and 80 credit points which would allow them to continue to universities, he said.

Purwantono said a young officer's education and training continued, through two phases of Officer's Courses, and then to the staff and command college.

A graduate of the staff and command college was equal to a full university graduate, he said. "So no one should question his ability."

Purwantono denied rumors that one must pay huge bribes in order to enroll at AKABRI.

There are no fees to join the academy, but one must have graduated from high school with a minimum score of 41, he said.

"Nobody can help you to enroll at AKABRI. If you pass the test, then you deserve to be in AKABRI," he said. (emb)