Bagus BT Saragih and Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – A string of criminal acts committed by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in the first four months of 2013 have raised concerns over the deteriorating level of discipline in the armed forces.
The arrest of Semarang Naval Base commander Col. Anter Setiabudi by the National Narcotics Agency (BNN) in Semarang, Central Java, on drug charges is the latest of many scandals to hit the TNI.
The most recent incident comes at a time when the military is trying to regain public trust after the murder of four inmates by 11 Army's Special Forces (Kopassus) commandos in Yogyakarta and attacks on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headquarters by a group of TNI soldiers in Jakarta.
TNI commander Adm. Agus Suhartono admitted that training and supervision of military personnel should be improved.
"Those who break the law will be tried and receive proper punishment. Aside from that, the personnel development and supervision, at the hands of commandants, will be improved," Agus told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Anter was arrested along with Brig. Rahmat Sutopo, a police officer from Central Java Police intelligence division, for selling and consuming crystal methamphetamine, according to the BNN.
"[Rahmat] was arrested at 1 a.m. on Monday when he was about to deliver crystal meth to [Anter] at the Ciputra Hotel in Simpang Lima, Semarang," BNN deputy Insp. Gen. Benny Mamoto said at a press conference at the BNN headquarters in Jakarta.
After his arrest, the BNN forced Rahmat to confess who the narcotics were intended for. The disgraced police officer then assisted BNN agents raid a room at the hotel where the Naval commander was found taking crystal meth. The agency found eight ecstasy pills and 0.3 grams of meth in the room, allegedly belonging to Anter.
Both suspects were brought to Jakarta but the case against Anter was handed over to the Navy Military Police later on Tuesday.
The Navy said Anter was the first middle-ranking officer to be charged with drug abuse. Navy spokesman First Adm. Untung Surapati said Anter had been dismissed from his post following his arrest.
Former TNI commander Gen. (ret.) Endriartono Sutarto suggested that soldiers committed violent acts because the government did not provide enough incentives for them.
"At the beginning of reformation era, businesses handled by the TNI were eradicated. All TNI expenses now come from the state budget. But, in reality, the state budget cannot cover many things, such as housing for soldiers," he said in a telephone interview.
Endriartono, who led the TNI between 2002 and 2006, said that soldiers were depressed as they had been unable to voice their political aspirations after the fall of Soeharto's New Order regime in 1998. "We used to have the TNI faction at the House of Representatives. When they dissolved the faction the government offered no substitute."
He added that the government should allocate a higher budget for the military, particularly to upgrade its obsolete military equipment. "Give the military their toys," said Endriartono, who now chairs the NasDem Party's advisory council.
Senior analyst from the Center For Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), J Kristiadi, suggested that the cases involving military personnel may only be the tip of the iceberg "If a middle-ranking personnel like the Naval commander in Semarang committed crimes, the iceberg might be huge," he said.
Kristiadi urged the TNI to evaluate the quality if its education and training. "Punishment is important, but internal evaluation is equally important," he said.
The TNI has been under the media spotlight for a number incidents, ranging from assault to murder. Last week, for instance, the Bandung Military Court II-09 handed down the death penalty for 23-year-old Second Pvt. Mart Azzanul Ikhwan for the murder of a pregnant woman and her mother in Garut.
[Ainur Rohmah contributed to the story from Semarang.]