Jakarta – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono must take action to complete internal reforms of the National Police and at the Attorney General's Office to restore public confidence in these two law enforcement institutions, NGOs said.
A number of activists said in a press conference Wednesday that it was not enough for the President to take to task the National Police chief, the attorney general and other high-ranking law enforcement officials who may have been involved in allegedly incriminating the suspended deputy chairmen of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Bibit Samad Rianto and Chandra Hamzah.
Transparency International Indonesia (TII) secretary-general, Teten Masduki, said that apart from imposing sanctions against leaders of the two law enforcement institutions as a warning to others, the President should also pursue further internal reforms in the two institutions.
"We are very disappointed with the President as he has yet to take any measures to follow up his fact-finding team's recommendations. Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, who resigned, has returned to his post and the police and the AGO are continuing their case against Bibit and Chandra, while businessman Anggodo Widjojo, who has admitted to giving Rp 5.1 billion in bribes through (middleman) Ari Muliadi, remains free," he said.
Danang Widoyoko said the President should place the police under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry and assign the authority to investigate and prosecute cases to the AGO. He said the AGO did not need a bigger budget, but more supervision of its prosecutors.
Bambang Widodo Umar, a police expert at the Higher Institute of Police Science (PTIK), concurred and said the police should no longer have the authority to conduct investigations, citing the need to separate them from the judiciary and allow them to focus on their main task of maintaining security and public order.
"The Constitution should be amended to place the police under the Home Ministry's jurisdiction in order to speed up reforms in that institution," he said, referring to the 1998 amendment separating the police from the armed forces.
Adie Massardhi of the Rumah Perubahan Democratic Movement said the proposed placing of the police under the Home Ministry would make it difficult for the police to politicize cases.
"The police are in need of a strong leader. They need another Hoegeng Imam Santoso (the National Police chief from 1968 to 1971 who initiated many institutional changes) who can focus on police personnel and their social welfare," he said while also making references to the late Gen. M. Jusuf who was close with the soldiers under his command.
The director of the Indonesian human rights NGO Imparsial, Rusdi Marpaung, said both the police and the AGO had tarnished images, and needed leaders who had the courage to revamp the two institutions.
"The President has to have the political courage to replace the National Police chief and the attorney general. The people deserve more than lip service, and expect concrete actions from the President. The new leaders in the National Police and the AGO have to take action against rotten apples in their ranks to reinstate the public trust in the two institutions," he said.
Danang Widoyoko from Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) said that based on a study conducted by ICW, the National Police was the most corrupt institution in the country with many officers abusing their powers.
"Our study found that corruption in the National Police took the form of red tape, negotiation fees and extortion in detention facilities," he said.