"For sure, I will listen to feedback from the National Police (Polri), the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), and the community. Certainly, in reaching a decision, I will abide by the existing rules and laws," Jokowi stated.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Amid suggestions that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) should not extend the term of office of the outgoing Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti, the head of state said he had yet to decide on the matter.

General Haiti will enter retirement period in July 2016. He was deputy police chief before being installed as police chief by President Jokowi on April 17, 2015, after the post was left vacant since January when the president dismissed the then police chief Gen. Sutarman, who was set to retire in October 2015.

Now, a month before Haiti reaches retirement age, the president is still considering feedback from various parties on police chief candidates and the possibility of extending Haitis term.

The president has the prerogative to decide whether to replace General Haiti or to extend his term.

"For sure, I will listen to feedback from the National Police (Polri), the National Police Commission (Kompolnas), and the community. Certainly, in reaching a decision, I will abide by the existing rules and laws," Jokowi stated recently.

Kompolnas Chief Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, concurrently the coordinating minister for political, legal, and security affairs, has reportedly presented a list of police chief candidates to the head of state.

Besides the candidate list submitted by Kompolnas, several names have also been suggested both by politicians and observers.

Political observer Boni Hargens, for instance, assessed that the five considerably strong candidates for the police top job are Deputy Police Chief Commissioner General Budi Gunawan, Head of the National Narcotics Agency Police Commissioner General Budi Waseso, Head of the National Counterterrorism Agency Police Commissioner General Tito Karnavian, Chief Commissioner of the Polices Educational Division General Syafruddin, and Commissioner of the Polices general supervision inspectorate General Dwi Priyatno.

Nasir Djamil, a member of Commission III on legal and security affairs of the House of Representatives, suggested a slightly different list of candidates.

Djamil mentioned five high-ranking officers as candidates: Commissioner General Gunawan, Commissioner General Waseso, Commissioner General Suhardi Alius, Commissioner General Putut Bayu Seno, and Commissioner General Safruddin.

"I think all of them are capable of leading the Polri and making it an institution capable of protecting the people," Nasir Djamil, a politician of the Justice Prosperous Pary (PKS) noted.

Another legislator, Bambang Soesatyo, however, called upon all the parties to allow Jokowi the freedom to choose whoever he deemed appropriate as the new chief of the National Police since there are many potential candidates in the arena.

"All sides must exercise restraint and not force the President. They should give the President the freedom to choose the right person as police chief," he said.

He apprehended that when the time comes to make the choice, the President would face problems.

The legislator from the Golkar Party pointed out that a number of officers have the maturity required for the job, and are ready to lead, including the incumbent deputy police chief, Commissioner General Budi Gunawan.

The process of selecting a new leader of the National Police must be left to the President, based on advice from high ranking officials.

"It would be better for the president to just implement Article 30, Paragraph 2 of Law Number 2 of 2002 on National Police regarding the maximum age of retirement with an exception for those who may have special expertise needed by the state, in which case the age of retirement may be extended up to two years," he stated.

He emphasized that the President needs a police chief who can lend maximum support to the governments current efforts to create a conducive climate to speed up local as well as foreign investment growth.

"This could be gauged from the Presidents recent initiative to summon the national police chief, the attorney general and the commissioners of the Corruption Eradication Commission regarding tax amnesty," he pointed out.

He surmised that the President wished for a commonality of perception when it comes to law enforcement in connection with the tax amnesty plan.

Furthermore, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung said President Joko Widodo may choose one other than those in the proposed list of candidates to be the new chief of national police.

The president has full authority to choose a new police chief to replace Gen. Badrodin Haiti who is expected to be replaced at his retirement age by August this year.

The president does not have to choose one from the list already proposed by the Kompolnas, Parmono said.

"So far there has been no one nominated to be the new chief,"Pramono said.

A hope was expressed by the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) that the President to appoint the best cadre as police chief based on integrity, dedication, experience, achievement, leadership, and wide network to be accepted by the public.

IPWs Presidium Chief Neta S. Pane remarked that based on the regulation on the appointment of the Indonesian Police chief, the candidates must be active senior officers of the police and should be selected based on their ranks and career graph.

The police require a chief who can build solidarity in the organization as a whole, make the police force more professional and modern, ensure that the National Police responds quickly to any public reports, maintain security, crush major criminal actors, and streamline the internal functioning of the police department.

Pane urged Jokowi not to keep Haiti in office because it could trigger controversies and political and legal polemics.

Meanwhile, Taufiqulhadi, a law maker from the Commission III it is better for all to wait for a signal from the president and avoid creating controversy about the issue.

The president restrains from making comment about the police chief issue merely to prevent a ripple in the cabinet, he noted.

"Past experience makes the president more cautious this time," he added without going into details.

He said all parties should give wider room for the president to choose one he thinks best. (*)

Reporter: Fardah
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2016