(Tempo) After Appoints From DPR, Budi Above the Flaw

12/12/2018

Something is not quite right in the succession of Indonesia's police chief position. Rumors, intrigue and noisy debates accompanying the selection of the police chief is a clear indication of this irregularity. Each candidate seem to be convinced of one thing: that political lobbying is more important than performance and powerful backing is needed to erase any blemish in past records.

Such irregularity is seen to be obstructing the selection of the most qualified top man in the police force. Unlike ministerial positions, the police chief like the commander of the Indonesian Military (TNI) is not a political appoinee who can be picked from any segment of society. The law on the police states that a candidate seeking to become police chief must be an active senior officer and his rank and performance record must be the key considerations to his appointment.

General Sutarman, the current police chief, will retire on October. So, the National Police Commission, headed by the Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, need not be looking for replacements so early in the day. It is certainly the prerogative of the President to replace the police chief, at the advice of the Police Commission. However, the President's choice must be approved by the House of Representatives (DPR). Last Friday, President Joko Widodo proposed Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as candidate for the police chief position.

Besides Budi, four other candidates are vying for the job. They are Badrodin Haiti (currently a deputy police chief), Dwi Prayitno (General Oversight Inspector), Suhardi Alius (Chief of the Police Crime Division) and Putut Eko Bayu Seno (chairman of the Security Maintenance Board).

It should be no surprise that the President has chosen Budi Gunawan. He has long been reported to be the front runner, because of his close relations to Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). He was once her aide-de-camp when Mega was president from 2001 to 2004. Budi is known to be good at currying favors with legislators at the DPR, with political parties and with the former president. During the presidential election in July last year, the PDI-P was the main sponsor of the Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla ticket. It can be concluded, therefore, that Mega's support of Budi Gunawan will have a big impact on President Jokowi's decision.

The Police Force, a pillar of law enforcement, must be led by an officer who is free of legal problems. Budi Gunawan along with Badrodin Haiti was widely reported to have been involved in the fat bank accounts case. In 2010, the Financial Transaction Analysis and Reporting Center (PPATK), which monitors money laundering activities, issued a report citing Budi and his children having a Rp 53 billion bank account, surely beyond a senior police officer's pay. Our investigation found that the funds were linked to a building project in Jakarta. Meanwhile, Badrodin is known to have an insurance costing Rp1.1 billion, suspected to be a money-laundering practice.

When the case was exposed, Tama Satrya Langkun, an activist from the Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) who followed the case, was attacked by unknown armed people. The editorial office of Tempo magazine in central Jakarta was similarly attacked by a molotov cocktail bomb after it featured a cover-story on police officers having fat bank accounts. To this day, the two incidents have not been solved by the police.

Unfortunately, it is one particular candidate's record that is being discounted by Jokowi. The President seems to ignore the fact that the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has, to date, not closed the case on the police generals' fat bank accounts. It would be a huge embarassment if the case, sometime in the future, dragged down the nation's top cop.

And why hasn't the president involved the KPK and the PPATK in verifying the record of this one candidate, the reasons he used to explain his rejection of problematic ministerial candidates nominated by political parties? This recently occurred with the selection of the Attorney General, which was not vetted by the two anti-graft organizations. The President also ignored the National Police Commission, which planned to involve the KPK and the PPATK in the due dilligence of selecting the new police chief.

The President has failed to prove that he cannot be dictated by short-term interests of certain parties. He seems to be captive to the politics of 'repaying favors'. He seems to lack the courage to ignore his sponsor's suggestion to support a candidate with a blemished record.

The President may have forgotten that ignoring a 'sponsored candidate' particularly one who is inept, would not automatically lead to less political support. In fact, the President is sure to get wide popular support if he dares to reject a candidate tarnished by public opinion.

It's just been six months since the last presidential election, but some things may already have been forgotten: that the president was elected by a majority of the nation's voters. He must know that people want public offices to be held by those who are honest, carrying no baggage full of problems.

JejakParlemen

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(Tempo) After Appoints From DPR, Budi Above the Flaw