Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Transforming the Defense Ministry into a purely civil institution must be the government's top priority during the 2009-14 term, a nongovernmental group said during a discussion in Jakarta.
The ProPatria Institute, an organization dedicated to defense issues, announced the recommendation as one of its top policy suggestions for the security sector during a forum hosted by the group on Wednesday.
The group said changes were needed to ensure defense policies were not too militaristic and to establish a clear separation between the bureaucracies of the ministry and the military.
ProPatria Executive Director Hari T Prihartono said civilians must fill the bulk of positions in the Defense Ministry's bureaucracy, which are currently dominated by high-ranking military officials.
The bureaucratic reforms must begin with the teasing out of agencies under the purview of the Ministry of Defense from the influence of the Armed Forces, he said.
"Improving civilian capacity, through formal or informal education, is always critical. And the Ministry of Defense should ensure that they support the process of changing the ministry into a purely civilian institution," Hari said.
However, a military analyst from the University of Indonesia, Kusnanto Anggoro, said rather than focusing on improving civilian bureaucracy in the ministry, it would be better for the government to push the next Defense Minister to thoroughly review the country's forces. He contended that most soldiers currently lack a militaristic orientation toward their jobs, and had gotten too soft.
"I have observed that most soldiers now have lost their spirit as soldiers, which makes them liable to forget their chief task: to remain ready to be deployed for conflict," Kusnanto said. "I think it's because most of them are deployed for social assistance like helping victims of natural disasters."
According to ProPatria, the group's recommendations are based on a review of the performance of the Armed Forces and police, as well as the handling of environmental, health and education issues.
Hari said the group also recommended ministry and the military conduct a strategic defense review and announce new revised plans for the next five years.
The Ministry must also review the Armed Forces's territorial command structure, which does not currently facilitate the development of a more professional military, he said. The group said that to improve domestic security, police and the Home Affairs Ministry must develop policies that provide security while preserving freedom for the country's residents, while tackling widespread poverty.
"Because poverty is one of the major causes of attitudes that turn against the law, as well as fostering antisocial and political disobedience," Hari said.
Rizal Sukma, an international relations expert and a member of the ProPatria team, said the country must take a more active role in international forums, especially the Group of 20.
He said the government must also develop multilateral relationships outside the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a forum too small for a country with as much potential influence as Indonesia. "It is better to enhance relationships with South Korea and Australia, which have bigger potential to influence the Asia Pacific than the Asean," nations, Rizal said.
ProPatria also recommended that the government take a bigger role in international action on climate change.
"Indonesians would suffer more from climate change than big Western countries. So we must take the leadership in any talks about the issue," said Chalid Muhammad, an environmentalist who is also a member of the team.
Hari added that the recommendations could be used as a reference for the country's representatives or governmental officials over the next term.