Jakarta – In an unprecedented move Tuesday, Indonesian Military (TNI) head Air Chief Marshal Djoko Suyanto spoke publicly about the poor relationship between TNI headquarters and the Defense Ministry.
Addressing a Defense Ministry leadership meeting in Jakarta, Djoko called for intense coordination and communication between the TNI and the Defense Ministry so that the state's defenses could reach their full potential.
"The 2004 Indonesian Military Law states that the TNI's strategic policies and defense administration are under the supervision of the Defense Ministry. However, in practice, the Defense Ministry sometimes issues policies without prior coordination or communication with TNI headquarters," Antara quoted Djoko as saying.
Djoko added that such communication gaps had frequently surprised both institutions and resulted in incomplete policies. He said that any policies issued by the ministry would have significant implications for the TNI's performance.
"Therefore, good coordination and communication should be established between TNI headquarters and the Defense Ministry," he added.
Apparently responding to the TNI chief's statement, Defense Minister Juwono Sudarsono said the ministry had decided to improve coordination among defense-related institutions by the end of this year.
"For 2007, the defense ministry has decided to improve coordination among institutions related to the TNI in an attempt to maximize the performance of the ministry as the state's defense political authority," Juwono said.
Separately, Defense Ministry secretary-general Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the ministry had been able to reduce "leakages" in budget spending at both the ministry and TNI headquarters.
"For the year 2005, we recorded unaccounted expenditures of Rp 225 billion (US$24.9 million). Meanwhile, last year the amount had dropped to Rp 100 billion," Sjafrie told journalists after the meeting, as quoted by detik.com news portal.
He added that leaks occurred in the procurement sector, particularly in arms deals, and in development projects.
"From 2007 and on, the Defense Ministry will establish and consider the scale of priority in budget spending," he said, citing efforts to curb illegal logging and illegal fishing as examples.