In general, our community trusts the TNI most among other government institution ..."
Bandar Seri Begawan (ANTARA News) - Territorial Assistant to the Army Chief of Staff Major General Komaruddin Simanjuntak has revealed the results of a survey that proved that the level of publics trust in the Indonesian Defense Forces (TNI) remains high.

The surveys result meant that the military has come closer to the people, he said here on Tuesday when visiting Brunei Darussalam.

He explained that the TNI has forged cooperation with 21 ministries, particularly with the Agriculture Ministry.

"This cooperation has proven to be very positive, a fact reflected in the survey result that indicated that the publics trust in TNI remains high," he added while attending a grand paddy harvesting event in Wasan farming area, Brunei.

One way to win the publics trust was by moving closer to the people, and TNI has been doing so since the beginning because it was born from among the people, he remarked.

The TNI has interacted intensely with common people, particularly with farmers, and also helped the Agriculture Ministry in realizing the national food resilience program, he explained.

"Why we enjoy a high public trust is because we have 53 thousand Babinsa (rural development officers). While the Agriculture Ministry has a shortage of officers to guide farmers, Babinsa officers assist these farmers," he noted.

The officers were first given training and knowledge on agricultural machinery, fertilizers, seeds and planting and harvesting techniques so that they can help farmers.

The TNI did not do all this with the aim to win trust in any survey but purely to help the people. In fact, the officers did not even know that a survey would follow, he argued.

Saiful Mujani Research and Consulting (SMRC) firms survey showed that TNI is the most trusted institution with a rating at 89.6 percent.

"In general, our community trusts the TNI most among other government institutions, because it stands as a guarantee of security," SMRC Executive Director Djayadi Hanan underlined earlier this year.
(T.I028/Uu.F001/INE/B003/KR-BSR/B003)

Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2016