Andika's appointment as the new Military Commander Contain 3 Serious Problems

November 4th, 2021, 11:33:16 WIB

JawaPos.com - The Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform considers that the steps taken by Indonesian President Joko Widodo to propose General Andika Perkasa as a candidate for Military Commander contain three serious problems. The President is considered to have ruled out the pattern of dimension rotation that prevailed in the Reformation era in the regeneration of the position, as is the norm in Article 13 paragraph (4) of the Military Decree Number 34 of 2004.

"Secondly, 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 corruption eradication. In this case, The National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK)," said Imparsial researcher Hussein Ahmad in his statement, Thursday (4/11).

Third, the development of maritime-centric regional security threats today requires greater attention in the maritime sector. Hussein also said that the proposed name Andika Perkasa as the new Commander was a wrong choice because it ignored the policy pattern based on a rotational approach.

"If you refer 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," said Hussein.

Because 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, Hussein continued, 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 given gold to one dimension in the military, as in the New Order era. The pattern of rotation of the position of the Commander, which has been started since the beginning of the Reformation, certainly needs to be maintained, moreover it has also been mandated in said decree.

“In short, we think that the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, should not ignore the pattern of changing the Commander-in-Chief based on the 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," said Hussein.

Therefore, the President must really ensure that the candidate for the Commander of the military that he proposes does not have a bad record, especially regarding human rights violations. Moreover, the news linking Andika Perkasa's name in the murder case of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay must be taken seriously.

Therefore, 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, it shows that the President of the Republic of Indonesia does not have a commitment to upholding human rights seriously as his political commitment," said Hussein.

Previously, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) had officially appointed Staff Chief General Andika Perkasa as Commander replacing Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto who was about to retire.

Cabinet Secretary Minister (Mensesneg) Pratikno explained that President Jokowi had appointed Andika Perkasa as the sole candidate for the Commander before making a working visit abroad on October 29th, 2021.

"Before leaving abroad, (the president appointed Andika Perkasa as a candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces-Red)," concluded Pratikno at the Indonesian Citizen Representative Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (3/11).

Editor : Kuswandi

Reporter : Muhammad Ridwan