Ezra Sihite, Novy Lumanauw & Markus Junianto Sihaloho, Jakarta – The move to put together a new presidential security detail, or Paspampres, to guard the family of a former president and vice president has elicited mixed responses from observers, some of whom claim the push stems from fear.
Hasto Kristiyanto, a deputy secretary general of the opposition Indonesia Democratic Party of Struggle (PPDI-P), said on Tuesday that the move by the current administration of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was questionable.
"This is part of Yudhoyono's scenario to secure himself when his term ends, using the state to protect himself and his family," Hasto said. "The question is, would the formation of the so-called Group D be relevant amid the various economic issues the people are currently faced with? Or is this a syndrome of [Yudhoyono's] excessive insecurity when his term ends?"
He was speaking in response to the inauguration on Monday of the new security detail, dubbed Group D, by Gen. Moeldoko, the armed forces chief of staff.
The current presidential guard consists of three teams, known as A, B and C, which are respectively in charge of close-range physical security for the president and their family; close-range physical security for the vice president and their family; and security measures for visiting heads of state and other senior foreign dignitaries.
Group D, created by a government regulation, will consist of 287 members with 30 officers being deployed to secure former presidents and vice presidents.
Hasto said that if throughout their term a president had consistently prioritized the public, then excessive security from the government may not be necessary. "The formation of Group D is just a way [for Yudhoyono] to save himself and is not a program to honor any other former presidents," he said.
The two other former presidents still living are Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is the PDI-P chairwoman, and B.J. Habibie, who spends much of his time in Germany, where he has been made an honorary citizen. Both Megawati and Habibie also served as vice presidents; Megawati to the late Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, and Habibie to the late Suharto.
Moeldoko said at Monday's ceremony that he would soon meet with the former heads of state to acquaint them with the new security program.
Clean Indonesia Movement (GIB), which advocates against profligate government spending, also criticized the establishment of Group D just months before Yudhoyono leaves office.
"The way I see it, behind the regulation there is tremendous fear by the person who initiated it – SBY – who will soon enough become a former president," Edhie M. Massardi, a coordinator at GIB, said as quoted by Inilah.com. "All this time, former presidents and vice presidents have almost never been subject to any [security] disturbances."
In a report by Tempo.co, military analyst Anton Ali Abbas questioned the urgency of the team's formation and the scope of its work. "Will they secure the main family as in the wife or husband and their children, or will they go as far as securing their in-laws and grandchildren too?" he said.
Julian Aldrin Pasha, a spokesman for Yudhoyono, said on Tuesday that the formation of the special security force was not proposed by the president, but was a result of evaluations by the presidential guard.
"Of course this was proposed by Paspampres, so if anyone says this was proposed by the president, I think that is not right," he said at the State Palace in Jakarta. He added that suggestions for the team to be put together had started several years ago, but only materialized this year.
Julian also denied criticism that the team would cause an unnecessary increase in the military budget, saying the presidential guard commander had ensured minimal additional expenses by recruiting from within the Paspampres ranks. "Paspampres will be remapping their members and optimizing them," he said. "I don't think there will be any big increases to the budget."
Tubagus Hasanuddin, a deputy chairman of the House of Representatives' Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, spoke in support of the team, noting that many of the current security staff assigned to former presidents and vice presidents were once members of Paspampres who were now placed in different institutions such as the Army or Marines.
Tubagus, from the PDI-P, said there were currently three to 15 security staff for each former head of state.