The Coalition urges the Indonesian Board of Citizen Representative (DPR RI) when testing and assessing the candidate for commander in chief to involve and ask for public opinion, independent state institutions and/or credible experts in testing the future commander in chief.
By: Agus Sahbani
November 4th, 2021
HUKUMONLINE.COMThe 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 Commander contain three serious problems. 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 Military Commander as the norm regulated in Article 13 paragraph (4) of Law No. 34 of 2004 regarding the military. . .
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 Committee (Komnas HAM) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Third, the development of maritime-centric regional security threats today requires greater attention in the maritime sector.
On Wednesday (11/3/2021), the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, sent a letter from the President of the Republic of Indonesia (Surpres) containing the name of the candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces to the leadership of the Indonesian House of Representatives. Based on the Surpres, there is one single candidate, namely Andika Perkasa as a replacement for the Commander Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, who will soon retire. Based on Article 13 paragraph (5) of the Military Decree, the President of the Republic of Indonesia proposes the name of the candidate for the Commander of the Military for approval by the DPR.
Furthermore, the Coalition needs to clarify the following important notes. First, the proposed name Staff Chief 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 theMilitary 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.
"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," said one of the Coalition representatives from PBHI, PBHI Secretary General Julius Hebrew to Hukumonline , Thursday (4/11/2021). In addition to PBHI, the Civil Society Coalition for Security Sector Reform consists of Imparsial, LBH Jakarta, KontraS, HRWG, PVRI.
The Coalition views that Indonesian President Joko Widodo should not ignore the pattern of changing the Commander-in-Chief based on a dimension rotation. Ignoring this approach can raise a big question mark, does the President of the Republic of Indonesia prioritize the subjective political factor of close relations rather than using a professional and substantive approach?
Second, the President of the Republic of Indonesia must really ensure that the candidate for the Commander that he proposes does not have a bad record, especially regarding human rights violations. The news that linked Andika Perkasa's name in the murder case of Papuan leader Theys Hiyo Eluay must be taken seriously (Tempo 23 October 2003). The President of the Republic of Indonesia should seek comprehensive information 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.
The Coalition urges the Indonesian Board of Citizen Representative (DPR RI) when testing and assessing the candidate for commander in chief to involve and ask for public opinion, independent state institutions and/or credible experts in testing the future commander in chief.
"The submission of General Andika Perkasa as the sole candidate for the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces 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 criticized.
Furthermore, there is a report that mentions the alleged assets of Andika Perkasa with a fantastic value that must be immediately clarified and explained to the public. As a soldier who submits to the Sapta Marga who upholds the value of honesty, the existence of reports of wealth ownership of up to 179.9 billion IDR must be explained in a transparent and accountable manner so that it is clear.
"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, 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. The coalition suspects that there is bad faith regarding General Andika's report had not being reported, a strong suspicion is that there is a problem with the source of wealth and a very fantastic amount."
Third, the fit and proper test stage for the candidate for the Commander, which will soon be held in the DPR, must be carried out in an open, accountable manner, involving the participation of the public and independent state institutions. Although the name of the candidate listed in the Surpres is only one candidate, it is the duty of the DPR to examine the candidate carefully.
"There should not be the impression that the DPR RI is only a 'stamper' of the President of the Republic of Indonesia. If the result is that the DPR does not approve the candidate, then referring to Article 13 paragraph (8) of the Military Decree, the DPR has the right to refuse by providing written reasons explaining its disapproval to the President of the Republic of Indonesia, "he said.
Fourth, we consider that the President of the Republic of Indonesia has still proposed Staff General Andika Perkasa as a candidate for Commander of the Indonesian Armed Forces by ignoring the rotation pattern as mandated by the Military Decree as well as the alleged involvement of Andika Perkasa in the Theys Hiyo Eluay case and the alleged ownership of a number of fantastic assets, indicating a setback in reform efforts. and transformation within the military,
On that basis, the Coalition urges the Indonesian House of Representatives when examining and assessing the candidate for the commander in chief to involve and solicit public opinion, independent state institutions and/or credible experts in testing future commander-in-chief candidates. For example, by involving the National Human Rights Committee (Komnas HAM) and the Corruption Eradication Committee (KPK) as well as other civil society institutions. Komnas HAM also conducted an immediate examination of Andika Perkasa's alleged role in the murder of Theys Eluay in November 2001.
"The President of the Republic of Indonesia immediately revoked 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."
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