Yuliasri Perdani, Jakarta – After days of defending his comments about corrupt practices in police investigations, National Police Commission (Kompolnas) member Adrianus Meliala on Friday apologized and withdrew his statement in the face of National Police chief Gen. Sutarman's ultimatum.
On Friday afternoon, Sutarman held a press conference to reiterate his commitment to continue processing the defamation lawsuit against Adrianus over the latter's statement that crime investigations divisions, both at regional and police levels, were often exploited "like ATMs" by the National Police's top brass.
Sutarman lambasted Adrianus' explanation that the statement was based on public complaints and reports from police officers received by Kompolnas, which is tasked with supervising the police's performance.
"I, 100 percent, do not believe that a police investigator has reported [the issue to Kompolnas]," he told journalists at the National Police headquarters.
"The statement will engender distrust of the National Police, which eventually will spark public animosity toward the institution. Eventually, the public will refuse to cooperate with the police, and this will jeopardize the National Police," Sutarman went on.
The police chief also rejected the suggestion that the investigation was an attempt to criminalize Adrianus. "Indonesia is a country that upholds the law. Any criminal offence must be brought to book," he said.
Sutarman went on to say that Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security Affairs Minister Djoko Suyanto, who is also the chairman of Kompolnas, had given him the green light to process the case.
"I called and [he asked me to] continue. He did not want to make any comment. He has also reported [the case] to Kompolnas commissioners," he said.
Despite having been angered by Adrianus, the police chief expressed his willingness to put an end to the legal process only if the Kompolnas commissioner fulfilled his demands.
"First, he must issue an apology on all media outlets in Indonesia, particularly the channel that aired his initial statement. Second, he must retract his statement," Sutarman said.
Hours after the press conference, Adrianus withdrew his statement. "In relation to the request to revoke my statement, I can accept that. In other words, I retract my statement," he said in a telephone interview.
Adrianus previously had issued an apology in the context that his outspokenness might have come at the wrong time. "I hope this will return the situation to normal, so we can conduct our supervisory role as usual," he said.
When asked about Djoko's role in mediating the case, Adrianus said that Kompolnas commissioners had requested to meet the minister to discuss the case, but Djoko had not responded.
Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane said that Sutarman's tough measures against Adrianus showed the police's reluctance to accept criticism.
"The police are being arrogant. The force has not investigated corruption cases implicating their officers, such as the alleged bribery at the traffic corps in Jakarta and East Java," he said.
"The force has not even completed the investigation into the graft-ridden vehicle-registration project [at the National Police's Traffic Corps], a case that was taken over by the Corruption Eradication Commission [KPK] in 2012," Neta added.
Meanwhile, Al Araf, a defense analyst at the human-rights organization Imparsial, said the problem centered on Adrianus' statement, which oversimplified the matter.
While making the remark in response to the investigation into four West Java Police officers, who allegedly tampered with an online-gambling case and received bribes, Adrianus had made a large claim that he, himself, might not be able to stand by, Al Araf said.
"The problem is in West Java. [Adrianus should] not generalize like that. He needs accurate and valid evidence to make such a statement. However, I think there was no urgency to bring Adrianus to justice. The National Police and Kompolnas need to acknowledge and respect each other's roles," he added.