Jakarta – The House of Representatives' commission on defense's deputy chairman Tubagus Hasanuddin said a special team was being established to monitor the possible misuse of newly purchased wiretapping devices in the 2014 elections.

"There is a possibility that the Indonesian Military (TNI) will misuse their intelligence devices. The biggest worry is the misuse of wiretapping devices for 2014 general election," said Hasanuddin in Jakarta on Thursday as quoted by tempo.co.

Therefore, he said, the House's commission on defense needed to closely monitor the use of the newly purchased wiretapping devices owned by the Indonesian Military's Strategic Intelligence Agency (BAIS).

Hasanuddin refused to provide more details both on structure and working method of the Commission's special team.

The House's Commission on defense has approved the purchase of new wiretapping devices worth Rp 70 billion (US$6.23 million) by the Defense Ministry for the BAIS.

Hasanuddin refused to give details on the type and brand of the wiretapping devices purchased by the Defense Ministry. "The commission has never discussed the devices' brand and manufacturing country. It's the authority of the users," he said.

Previously, Imparsial's human rights activist, Poengky Indarti, voiced rejections over the purchase of the intelligence wiretapping devices from Gamma TSE Ltd by the Defense Ministry.

Poengky said the $70 billion worth devices were prone to be misuse, in particular for illegal wiretapping activities during the 2014 elections. (apt/ebf)