The Jakarta Post, December 26, 2005
Police hailed for drive against terrorism, drug merchants
Eva C. Komandjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Although the police institution in the country remains a target of public criticism,
mainly over the lack of professionalism and skill, it does deserve some praise for the
efforts in combating terrorism and curbing illegal drug distribution in the country.
However, the corruption eradication campaign is still far from satisfactory.
Starting with the replacement of the national police chief in July, the president's
hand-picked successor, Gen. Sutanto, pledged to reform the institution by first turning
the force into an independent institution despite his close ties to President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono -- they were classmates at the Military Academy in 1973.
Sutanto, who was promoted to the rank of commissioner general in February, also
had taken command of the National Narcotics Agency. Susilo asked Sutanto, who
rose to prominence due to his perceived tough stance against gambling, to focus on
corruption eradication, fuel smuggling, illegal logging and drug trafficking.
After he assumed the position as chief in July, his biggest achievement in the year
2005 can be counted in the war against terrorism after his men managed to corner
and kill Azahari bin Husin, one of the country's most wanted men, in a police raid in
Malang, East Java.
Azahari and his compatriot Noordin M. Top, both Malaysian nationals, are believed to
be the masterminds of a series of bombing attacks in the country between 2000 and
2005.
They are also suspected to be key members of local terror network Jamaah Islamiyah
(JI), which is known to have links to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda.
The most recent terror attack by JI was the Oct. 1 restaurant suicide bombings on
Bali, strong believed to be the handiwork of Azahari and Noordin's foot soldiers as
revealed in their confessions recorded on video before the attack.
However, the police are still searching for Noordin, who slipped through the police's
hands during another raid in Semarang, Central Java.
In combating illegal drugs, Sutanto has been much more successful as he managed
to raid two major ecstasy factories in Serang, West Java and Banyuwangi, East Java,
in November.
The Serang factory was the world's third largest and it was capable of producing a
million ecstasy pills a day with a street value of an estimated Rp 100 billion (US$10
million).
The Banyuwangi factory, although much smaller than the one found in Serang, was
capable of producing 12,000 ecstasy pills a day. The factory could earn up to Rp 28.8
billion per month.
Being successful with terrorism and drugs, Sutanto, however, has not been able to
fulfill his vow to eradicate gambling in the country. During his first days in charge, he
said that he would eliminate gambling permanently and ordered all regional police
chiefs to start the crackdown in their own areas.
However, Sutanto's wish to eradicate gambling has not come true, reportedly because
there are still too many officers reluctant to seriously crack down on the casinos,
which they allegedly profit from via their own protection racket.
Forgetting gambling and focusing on repairing his own house, Sutanto moved forward
with a plan to enforce the law among the law enforcement personnel and start a police
reform era.
The reform process began with several police officers undergoing disciplinary hearings
or criminal investigations for their criminal acts, which had long remained kept under
the carpet.
By replacing Insp. Gen. Supriyadi as the internal affairs division head with former head
of the telecommunications division Insp. Gen. Yusuf Manggabarani, Sutanto began
his mission in investigating corrupt officials, including high-ranking officers.
One example was the investigation of former head of the fraud squad at the National
Police Headquarters Brig. Gen. Samuel Ismoko and his subordinate Sr. Comr. Irman
Santosa for allegedly receiving bribes from a corruption convict.
Both have been declared suspects by the head of the investigation team since the
investigators found a large amount of evidence linking them to bribery and abuse of
power when they were investigating the high-profile corruption case involving Bank
Negara Indonesia (BNI) in 2003.
Former chief of detectives at the National Police Headquarters Comr. Gen. Suyitno
Landung had also been named a suspect in the case.
The chief of the Tebing Tinggi Police in North Sumatra has lost his job for his role in
the smuggling of sugar, and the chief of the Bogor Police has been replaced in
connection with illegal fees imposed on people applying for driver's licenses.
Another general caught by the internal affairs division net is head of the general
supervision division Comr. Gen. Binarto. He was accused of abusing his authority by
ordering East Java's sea police director Sr. Comr. Toni Suhartono to release a ship
and its crew alleged to be smuggling fuel.
Interestingly, Binarto later submitted a resignation letter to the national police chief
before his disciplinary hearing started in December.
Another case involving police misconduct were the findings of suspicious transactions
in 14 police officer's bank accounts. The Financial Transaction and Report Comptroller
(PPATK) discovered the suspicious transactions and reported to the police chief.
The investigations into the accounts are still ongoing. Three case files for bank
accounts belong to a one-star general with the initial Z and two middle-ranking officers
identified by the initials MR and KM, have been submitted to the prosecutors.
However, the investigation into the 11 other cases have not as yet.
Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) executive director Neta S. Pane criticized the police
for moving too slowly in handling internal corruption.
"The police should be in the vanguard of the corruption eradication campaign.
Ironically, the institution has been tainted by bribery, budget mark-ups and theft of
state money," Neta said.
However, with the recent reshuffle of 13 high-ranking police officers, one can expect
the improvement within the institution as well as reforms since the reshuffle marked
an end to the seniority-based career moves. Sutanto has chosen officers with
capability and capacity for the new posts.
In a telegram dated Dec. 9, made public on Saturday, Sutanto appointed 13 new
regional police chiefs, of whom eight will get a promotion in rank.
Also promoted was Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Made Mangku Pastika, who will
become the operational chief of the National Narcotics Agency, a post left vacant by
Sutanto following his appointment as National Police chief in July.
Sr. Comr. Indradi Tanoes, who recently led the raid on the world's third largest
ecstasy plant in Serang, Banten, also earned a promotion as the head of the drug
squad at the National Police Detective Directorate.
Sutanto has also dismissed the Bogor police chief Sr. Comr. Tjiptono for sexual
harassment, three months after his predecessor Sr. Comr. Bambang Wasgito was
demoted for his alleged role in an assault on a subordinate officer.
It seems that the police force is gearing up for the future with reforms and
improvement. Without tight law enforcement, Indonesia will be a country left in the
possession of criminals and terrorists.
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