Sultan Abdurrahman, Jakarta – Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto has decided that the Indonesian National Police (Polri) will remain directly under the president rather than be placed under a ministry.

The stance was conveyed during a meeting with the Police Reform Commission at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. Following the discussion, the commission said Prabowo rejected proposals to establish either a security ministry or a dedicated police ministry.

"The position of the National Police remains unchanged, directly under the president," said Yusril Ihza Mahendra, a member of the Police Reform Commission and Coordinating Minister for Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections.

He added that the government has no plans to create a new ministry for the police or to place the institution under any existing ministry, such as the Home Affairs Ministry.

Meanwhile, Police Reform Commission chairman Jimly Asshiddiqie said the panel itself did not recommend placing the police under a ministry.

"We agreed not to propose the establishment of a new ministry," Jimly said.

He explained that the commission concluded a police ministry would likely bring more drawbacks than benefits. "The president asked earlier, and we explained that our conclusion is that the disadvantages outweigh the benefits, so we decided not to propose it," he added.

The commission completed its recommendations in February 2026, following roughly three months of study, but only presented them to the president in early May.

The Police Reform Commission was established after calls for reform intensified following mass protests in late August 2025, when various groups accused the police of abusing their authority in handling demonstrations.

The protests left ten people dead, including an online motorcycle taxi driver, Affan Kurniawan, who was killed after being struck by a Mobile Brigade tactical vehicle on Pejompongan Street in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, on August 28, 2025.

During a meeting with civil society figures from the Nation's Conscience Movement in September 2025, Prabowo expressed willingness to pursue police reform. He formally established the reform commission the following month.

– Dani Aswara contributed to the writing of this article.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/2102035/prabowo-decides-police-will-remain-directly-under-presiden