In any election, it's essential for law enforcement to remain neutral, but that neutrality has been called into question ahead of Indonesia's upcoming presidential election on April 17 due to a shocking claim by an alleged whistleblower from the police force, which is dominating headlines in the country today.
Yesterday, at the Lokataru Law and Human Rights Office in Jakarta, Adjunct Commissioner Sulman Azis claimed at a press conference that he was recently reassigned from his post as the police chief of the Pasirwangi sub-precinct in the Garut Regency of West Java because he refused orders from his superior to campaign for incumbent President Joko Widodo and his running mate Ma'ruf Amin.
"We were threatened. All sub-precinct chiefs. If in our region candidate 01 (the designated candidacy number for Jokowi-Ma'ruf) loses, we would be transferred," Sulman said as quoted by CNN Indonesia, adding that he believes his recent reassignment to the West Java Provincial Police was in part motivated by his alleged support for Jokowi's challenger Prabowo Subianto.
Sulman said that when he was still Pasirwangi sub-precinct chief, he and other sub-precinct chiefs were ordered by the Garut police chief to document who citizens were going to vote for in the election. He claims this is the first election in which police in the region were given such an order.
"I implore you all (police officers in Indonesia) to never have fear and to refuse orders that are wrong," Sulman said.
Garut Police Chief Budi Satria Wiguna denied his former subordinate's claim, suggesting that it was made out of spite for his recent reassignment, even though he didn't personally sign off on Sulman's transfer since it was a decision made by people higher up the chain in the West Java Police.
The West Java Police have also officially denied Sulman's claim. Regardless, Jokowi's camp still addressed Sulman's claim, denying that they have ever elicited police support for their campaign.
"We have never given or sought help from the police. We know that the police is a state instrument that must maintain their independence and neutrality in this election," Jokowi-Ma'ruf campaign deputy head Abdul Kadir Karding told the media today, as quoted by CNN Indonesia.