Markus Junianto Sihaloho – The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said on Friday that intelligence officers should not have powers to arrest terrorists and should serve only to warn the state against impending attacks.
The statement of the opposition party, also known as the PDI-P, came amid concerns over a new intelligence bill being deliberated by the House of Representatives.
Among the main points of the bill is to give the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) the authority to arrest terrorists before they attack.
However, PDI-P secretary general Tjahjo Kumolo said on Friday that Indonesia should emulate the systems of European intelligence agencies, where agents gather information on possible threats and leave arrests to police. "So [the intelligence agency] will work as an early-warning system," he said.
He said the European model was suited to Indonesia, where there were strong concerns about human rights violations. "I think it's normal if many citizens are concerned if the intelligence agency is given rights to execute [arrests]," Tjahjo said.
The intelligence bill, which has drawn criticism from rights groups, also seeks to allow the pre-emptive arrests of people suspected of subversion. It also contains a controversial article allowing the BIN to wiretap phone conversations without a court order.
Some lawmakers have criticized the new proposal, saying such powers could be abused, especially by the administration, which has the spy agency under its command.
However, Muhammad Najib, a member of the National Mandate Party (PAN), dismissed such notions, saying safeguards could be easily written into the law.
"I guarantee this bill will never be aimed at, let's say, protecting President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono," he said during a forum on the intelligence bill in Jakarta on Friday.
"All the proposed [powers] for BIN are aimed at giving the agency [the capacity] to secure the nation's sovereignty," he said.
Najib also said the president was not seeking to gain from giving the BIN more powers, despite accusations that the bill would protect his vested interests. "Our president is an intelligent man. I am sure he will govern us until 2014 with or without giving the BIN new powers," Najib said.
The lawmaker also claimed "almost all" of his fellow members on House Commission I, which oversees defense and foreign affairs, were in favor of passing the bill intact.
Tjipta Lesmana, an intelligence analyst, said there were other pressing issues concerning the intelligence bill aside from new powers for the BIN. Another crucial issue that needs to be discussed, Tjipta said, is how to integrate intelligence units within the country's ministries and other departments to ensure national security.
He said several government agencies operated their own intelligence units, including the National Police, the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), the Attorney General's Office, the Custom and Excise Directorate and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"The lawmakers must give more attention to how to smooth out the coordination among all the units," he said on Friday. "Of course, the user of the intelligence units must also be clearly regulated in the bill."