“The National Conscience Movement has stressed the need to evaluate and reform the Indonesian Police, a proposal the president welcomed, expressing his commitment to forming a commission on police reform,” said Protestant priest Gomar Gultom, speaking for the group.
GNB members met with Prabowo at the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday evening to convey public concerns and proposals during a dialogue session.
According to Gultom, President Prabowo said he already planned to pursue reforms in line with public demands.
“What the National Conscience Movement aspires to is also in my conscience,” the president said, as quoted by Gultom.
Gultom did not provide details on how the president would carry out the reforms, saying GNB would leave it to Prabowo to announce his plans.
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Along with backing police reform, Prabowo also accepted a proposal for an independent investigation committee into riots that broke out in several regions last August.
Former religious affairs minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, another GNB member, said the committee was needed to uncover the causes of the unrest that followed public protests.
“We need to clear legitimate demonstrations of accusations that they directly triggered the riots last August. That is why this investigation is necessary,” Lukman said.
He added that Prabowo supported the idea and said the Palace would determine how the committee will operate.
Participants in the Thursday dialogue included former first lady Sinta Nuriyah Wahid, Muslim scholar Quraish Shihab, Jakarta Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo, Buddhist monk Pannyavaro Mahathera, and Jesuit priest Franz Magnis-Suseno.
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Translator: Genta Tenri/Mentari DG, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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