Yusril urges police to boost security to prevent vigilante acts

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra has urged the Indonesian National Police (Polri) to increase vigilance in maintaining public security and order to prevent vigilante actions. He stressed that if the state fails to provide a sense of safety to the public, the potential for people taking the law into their own hands will grow significantly. Yusril specifically highlighted incidents in Bali and Morowali, Central Sulawesi, where suspected chicken and motorcycle thieves were beaten to death by mobs. He noted that in these events, there appeared to be no preventive action by law enforcement, allowing the mobs to freely assault the victims until they died. If such negligence continues, he warned, it could escalate into serious human rights violations, making it imperative for the state to be present and prevent such occurrences. To address the situation, Yusril announced that his ministry would soon hold a Joint Coordination Meeting with the Coordinating Ministry for Political and Security Affairs. The meeting aims to discuss the coordination and synchronisation of efforts to tackle street crime, particularly theft, robbery, and muggings that are causing public unrest. He acknowledged that the causes of street crime are many and varied, including psychological, social, and economic factors. However, he emphasised that handling the issue cannot be done by law enforcement alone and requires cross-ministerial and institutional involvement. He plans to invite all relevant ministries, agencies, and law enforcement bodies, as well as independent state institutions such as the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI). This comprehensive approach, he added, is intended to ensure the protection of human rights for all citizens.