Ina Parlina and Fedina S. Sundaryani, Jakarta – President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo signed two government regulations that would increase the monthly salaries of National Police officers and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel by 6 percent. The decision was made public on Thursday.

The two regulations raise monthly salaries of the lowest-ranking police officers and enlisted TNI soldiers to Rp 1.56 million (US$116.9) per month from Rp 1.47 million last year, and the generals and commodores from Rp 5.32 million to Rp 5.64 million per month.

The regulations state that "the new provisions take affect starting January this year," although Jokowi signed off on the decision on June 4.

Under the new regulations, middle-ranking officers, for example, TNI mayors and police commissioners, receive Rp 2.85 million, up from Rp 2.69 million, while colonels and senior commissioners can receive up to Rp 4.99 million, an increase from last year's Rp 4.7 million.

Jokowi also signed other regulations that increased pension funds for retired police and military personnel, as well as the allowances for their widowers or widows and children.

However, Jokowi has yet to decide on the police's proposal for a remuneration increase.

National Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti said the force had officially proposed a remuneration hike for police personnel, a move many believed was inspired by Jokowi's plan to increase the military remuneration by 56 to 60 percent starting in May. Badrodin has complained that two-thirds of this year's budget will be used to pay salaries.

Meanwhile, although the National Police's budget did not increase as much as Badrodin hoped, he said on Friday that the police force's main priority right now was to optimize the funds for investigations.

He said that next year's planned budget allocation for the force would increase from Rp 57 trillion to Rp 62 trillion.

"So far our budget has never been enough for the investigations we conduct every year. The current budget only funds around 36 percent of all the investigations we are conducting," he told reporters at the National Police headquarters in South Jakarta.

Badrodin's predecessor, Gen. Sutarman, once acknowledged that the limited budget drove many police investigators to conduct unlawful acts such as extortion in order to be able to investigate the large number of cases received every year.

Badrodin himself said that he would propose another increase next year so that all investigations could be fully covered by their annual budget.

"Of course it is unlikely that 100 percent of all the investigations will be immediately covered but at least there will be an increase in 2016," he said.

Jokowi made the announcement on his plan to increase the TNI remuneration during an April ceremony when he was awarded the military berets.

Source: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/06/13/jokowi-raises-police-and-soldiers-salaries.html