Kamis, November 4th, 2021 16:36
WARTAKOTALIVE.COM, JAKARTA– President Jokowi's move to propose the Staff Chief of the Indonesian National Soldier (KSAD) General Andika Perkasa to be the sole candidate as commander, received mixed responses from a number of parties.
A number of human rights activists who are members of the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform also questioned the criteria of President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) who chose General Andika Perkasa to replace Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto as commander.
One of them was conveyed by Imparsial researcher, Hussein Ahmad.
He revealed, there are at least three crucial things related to the appointment.
"The steps taken by the Indonesian President Joko Widodo to propose General Andika Perkasa as a candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces contain three serious problems," said Hussein Ahmad, an Imparsial researcher in response to General Andika Perkasa becoming the commander in Jakarta through a written statement, Thursday (4/11/2021).
In addition to Imparsial, the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform consists of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including KontraS, LBH Jakarta, HRWG, Setara Institute, Public Virtue Research Institute, Amnesty International Indonesia, Initiative for Democracy and Security (IDeKa), Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), ELSAM, National PBHI, LBHM, LBH Pers, ICJR also highlighted this appointment.
Hussein explained three serious problems with the proposal of General Andika Perkasa as the Military Commander.
First, the President of the Republic of Indonesia has set aside the pattern of dimension rotation that prevailed in the Reformation era in the regeneration of the Commander as the norm that applies in Article 13 paragraph (4) of Military Decree No. 34 of 2004.
Second, the President of the Republic of Indonesia has proposed a name whose track record still needs to be tested by an independent state institution in the fields of law, human rights, and eradication of corruption.
Dalam hal ini, Komnas HAM dan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK).
Third, the development of maritime-centric regional security threats today requires greater attention in the maritime sector.
"So the proposal for the name Andika Perkasa as the new commander is a wrong choice because it ignores the policy pattern based on a rotational approach. If referring to Article 13 paragraph (4) of the Military Decree, the position of the commander is held alternately by active high-ranking officers from each force who are currently or have served as Staff Chief of the Forces," he explained.
Hussein emphasized that the application of the rotation pattern will foster a sense of equality between dimensions, balance the orientation of the military's posture development, as well as equal opportunities for high-ranking officers, regardless of the dimension of origin. This can also have a positive impact in the form of strengthening the internal solidity of the military.
"In addition, the rotation pattern is important in order to reduce the jealousy that is very likely to occur among soldiers due to the impression that the President of the Republic of Indonesia has promoted one dimension within the military, as in the New Order era," he explained.
"The pattern of rotation of the Military Commander position, which has started since the beginning of the Reformation, certainly needs to be maintained, moreover it has also been mandated in the Military Decree," he added.
Hussein suggested that President Jokowi should not ignore the pattern of changing the Commander-in-Chief based on dimension rotation. Ignoring this approach can raise a big question mark whether the President of the Republic of Indonesia prioritizes the subjective political factor of close relations rather than using a professional and substantive approach.
"The President of the Republic of Indonesia must really ensure that the candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces that he proposes does not have a bad record, especially regarding human rights violations," he explained.
The news linking Andika Perkasa's name in the murder case of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay, continued Hussein, must be taken seriously.
The President of the Republic of Indonesia should conduct comprehensive information gathering on all candidates by involving credible institutions in order to strengthen the considerations of the President of the Republic of Indonesia in making the right decisions.
"With the submission of General Andika Perkasa as the sole candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, it shows that the President of the Republic of Indonesia does not have a commitment to upholding human rights as seriously as his political commitment," he said.
Hussein also revealed that there were reports that the alleged assets of Staff General Andika Perkasa with a fantastic value must be immediately clarified and explained to the public.
Sebagai prajurit yang tunduk pada Sapta Marga yang menjunjung tinggi nilai kejujuran, adanya laporan kepemilikan kekayaan hingga berjumlah Rp 179,9 Miliar harus dijelaskan secara transparan dan akuntabel sehingga terang benderang.
"So we consider it important to carry out an audit of Andika Perkasa's assets by the KPK. During his career in the military, General Andika only reported the State Wealth Administration report (LHKPN) in June 2021. This means that during the 3 years he was KSAD, he had never reported LHKPN. This violates Article 4 paragraph (3) of KPK Regulation No. 4 of 2020, which requires General Andika to report LHKPN," he said.
Currently, the Chairperson of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Puan Maharani, will immediately respond to the Presidential Letter (Surpres) regarding the candidate for the TNI Commander General Andika Perkasa by holding a fit and proper test on November 4-5, 2021. The test will be carried out by Commission I of the Indonesian Board of Citizen Representative. The Board's Colloquy, said Puan, also decided that the results of the fit and proper test for the candidate for the commander would immediately be brought to the Board of Citizen Representative Plenary Meeting on November 8th, 2021.
In accordance with the Military Decree, the Board of Citizen Representative approval of the candidate for Commander in Chief proposed by the President is submitted to the President no later than 20 (twenty) days, excluding the recess period, starting from the time the application for approval for the Commander in Chief candidate is received by the board.
Desakan koalisi masyarakat sipil terkait penunjukkan Jenderal Andika sebagai calon panglima TNI:
- The Indonesian Board of Citizen Representatives to do a serious examine to the commitments of the candidate for commander in chief to democracy, human rights, eradicating corruption and others, in particular the alleged connection of the Staff Chief General Andika Perkasa in the assassination of Theys Hiyo Eluay and the possession of such a fantastic amount of wealth and should therefore be rejected;
- The Board of Citizen Representatives in examining and assessing candidates for commander is obliged to involve and ask for public opinion, independent State Institutions and/or credible experts in testing future commanders, for example by involving the National Human Rights Committee (Komnas HAM) and the Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) and other civil society institutions;
- The President of the Republic of Indonesia to immediately revoke the Presidential Letter appointing General Andika as the sole candidate for the Commander, then continued and formed an Acceleration Team that was directly responsible to the President of the Republic of Indonesia to carry out reform and transformation of the Military.
- Komnas HAM to conduct an immediate examination of Andika Perkasa's alleged role in the Theys Eluay murder case in November 2001.
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