Hans David Tampubolon, Jakarta – A law expert and former counselor for the Constitutional Court (MK), Irmanputra Sidin said the replacing of all the police officers guarding the court Wednesday was something "new" and had never happened before.
"The rotation of individual officers is routine, because some police officers might get promoted or transferred, but never all at once. As far as I know, that has never happened before," he told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
A University of Indonesia police expert, Bambang Widodo Umar, said that due to the strange and sudden nature of the rotation, he believed it was natural for the public to infer a link between this incident and the recent decision by the court's chief, Mahfud MD, to publicly play a tape revealing the alleged plot to incriminate two Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) leaders by a number of officials from the National Police and the Attorney General's Office.
"The police must clearly justify the reasons behind the unusual rotation," he said.
In an attempt to curb public speculation on the matter, the Constitutional Court and the police have both said that Wednesday's rotation of all police officers guarding the court was normal procedure and had nothing to do with the court's recent public hearing of the controversial tape, which has severely tarnished the image of the police.
"The replacement is just another rotation and both the police and the court have reached an agreement over it," Mahfud told a press conference office Wednesday, held specially to clarify the issue.
Mahfud also said that it had originally been agreed that only a handful of his nine personal bodyguards would be rotated. However, the court and the police decided to rotate all of the officers.
Separately, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli told the Post that the rotation had been scheduled and that it was a routine procedure.
There was public and media speculation that the rotation may have been linked to police resentment toward Mahfud because of his authorization of the public playing of the controversial tape.
The tape revealed a possible alleged conspiracy between a number of high ranking officials from the National Police and the AGO to weaken the KPK by incriminating the anti-graft body's deputy chairmen, Chandra M. Hamzah and Bibit Samad Riyanto, in a bribery scandal.
Mahfud said after the tape was played words to the effect that those involved in the conspiracy merited the most severe criticism, but later clarified that he was referring to corrupt officials and not their institutions.
That statement has apparently ruffled the feathers of National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri, prompting him to tell legislators in the House of Representatives that the police were not "a bunch of animals" during a hearing last Thursday. Mahfud then acknowledged during Wednesday's press conference that the issue had gone too far and had led to unrest within a number of civilian groups.
According to Mahfud, Gerakan Pemuda Ansor, the security wing of the country's largest Islamic group, Nahdlatul Ulama, had offered him the services of a number of volunteer guards.