TNI staying clear of politics? It's rhetoric

TNI staying clear of politics? It's rhetoric

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

President Megawati Soekarnoputri's call for the military to
finally leave politics seems to be merely rhetorical because in
reality politicians and soldiers are indispensable partners,
observers say.

Megawati's message during the Indonesian Military's (TNI) 56th
anniversary celebration last Thursday, which effectively said the
TNI must quit politics, has received a surprisingly positive
response from top leaders in the military.

Military analysts Hermawan 'Kiekie' Sulistyo of the Indonesian
Institute of Science (LIPI) and Indria Samego of The Habibie
Center, however, doubt the sincerity of the President and TNI
leaders.

"About 70 to 80 percent of high ranking officers in the
Military still want to maintain their roles in politics. In
addition, many politicians feel safe if they are close to them,"
Hermawan told The Jakarta Post.

Indria also claimed that the majority of senior military
officers continue to possess political aspirations. They are a
legacy of the New Order government which built its power upon
military support in the form of the dual-function doctrine.

He went on to state that most military officers know very well
that many politicians still need their support.

"Why does Megawati have (army generals) Bambang Susilo
Yudhoyono, Hari Sabarno and Agum Gumelar in her cabinet? Surely
it is not because the officers are smart. There are still many
other people who are better (ministers) than them," added Indria.

He added that they were appointed because of their influence
within the powerful military.

Hermawan also said that Megawati's Indonesian Democratic Party
of Struggle (PDI-P) was also one of the parties which supported
a military presence in the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR)
until 2009.

He added that younger military officers in the Army, Air
Force, and Navy seem more willing to abandon politics and focus
on becoming a professional defense force with a single focus of
protecting the nation militarily.

Both Hermawan and Indria said that if both politicians and
military officers had the political will, the military could quit
their seats in the legislative bodies as early as 2004.

Indria stressed the need for laws to encourage the military to
quit politics and concentrate on improving their professionalism.

He said that a current ad hoc committee in the People's
Consultative Assembly (MPR) may also amend the 1945 Constitution
in connection with military functions.

"The draft of this amendment should explicitly define the
military function," he said, adding that more detailed
regulations on the role of the military could be detailed in the
law.

Hermawan pointed out that it would require substantial budget
appropriations to create a professional military, especially to
buy weaponry and improve soldiers' welfare.

He proposed that a colonel's salary should be equal to that of
a middle-level manager in a private company, or between Rp 15
million and Rp 20 million.

"With an adequate salary, it is expected that they will not
seek 'side jobs' and will then be able to concentrate solely on
their military job," Hermawan told the Post.