Flower garlands and a downpour of congratulations will mark the 64th anniversary of the National Police today, but the celebration has already turned sour following an investigative report regarding the suspicious wealth of mid- to high-ranking officers in the force.
An inspector general, according to the Tempo magazine report, lives in a luxury house built on a 3,000-square meter plot of land in South Jakarta, although he currently only earns Rp 22 million (US$2,417) in monthly salary.
An adjutant senior commissioner booked Rp 4.5 billion in assets in 2005, bought two large-size houses in his hometown, Makassar, and dared to contest a regional election in 2008, although some aspirants in other regions complained the polls cost them at least Rp 20 billion.
The findings contradict the public perception that the police force is one of the cash-strapped institutions in the country that is facing herculean duties to instill reforms and uphold good governance.
Nothing is new or surprising with the report, as for the last few years the National Police has been negotiating the issue, which its leaders deem as no less than accusations. Even when former detective chief Comr. Gen. Susno Duadji, now detained on multiple graft charges, sang aloud about rampant bribery practice within the force, the National Police took a defensive stance.
Thousands of copies of the latest edition of the magazine, which features the investigative report, were sold out before they hit the streets, only to spark speculation that the report would be detrimental to certain officers dubbed candidates for the National Police chief post.
In response to the report, current detective chief Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi said the National Police chief had ordered investigations on around 800 suspicious transactions involving police officers, including bank accounts belonging to 60 officers.
Corruption watchdogs have long smelled graft practice within the police force, which they say has worsened following the landmark separation of the police from the armed forces a decade ago. The find reforms have provided fertile ground for corruption to grow, rather than rooted out the practice many used to link to the past regime.
Positive thinkers, however, believe the police reform is not just a facelift, but works well in line with the force's bid to rebuild its image.
A survey conducted by Gallup in April 2007, for example, found Indonesians expressed a great sense of personal security from crime as a result of the police reform. It discovered that nearly nine in 10 Indonesians said they felt safe walking alone at night, and saw a drastic decline in crime rate.
The police's efforts to improve national security have been evident in their continuous crackdown on terror suspects. A number of planned strikes have been foiled, which otherwise would resemble Indonesia to several other Asian countries where bombs blast almost every day due to their persistent fight against terrorism.
Nevertheless, the glamorous lifestyle of police generals in the country may hurt the internal reform they claim to fight for. In a time when corruption is known to have been deep rooted in many, if not all, state institutions as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has found, it is legitimate to question the police's commitment to reform.
A mandatory wealth report sanctioned by the KPK for public officials, including police top brass, does not mean anything but routine as the antigraft body and the country's legal system cannot force state officials to prove they gained their wealth through legitimate means.
A fully fledged police reform will require not only skillful and professional officers who provide security to society, but also personnel with integrity as we cannot afford to rely on law enforcers who break the law themselves.
Good cops are what we need to complete our transition to democracy. We do not want a quick fix, but we believe the police reform, after more than a decade, is too slow to bear fruit.