Political opponents suspect that the appointment of the two police generals is to secure a gubernatorial candidate in both W. Java and N. Sumatra. Appointing the two high-ranking police officers to civilian positions is contrary to the National Police Law.
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ANTARA FOTO/M AGUNG RAJASA
West Java Governor Ahmad Heryawan (second right, foreground), whose five-year term ends this year, walks alongside acting West Java Governor Comr. Gen. M. Iriawan (left) and West Java Regional Secretary Iwa Karniwa (second left) before Iriawan\'s inauguration on Monday (18/6/2018) at the Gedung Merdeka in Bandung, West Java. The Home Ministry has appointed National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) primary secretary M Iriawan as the acting governor of West Java.
The government of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo is using its power to manage public resistance when appointing high-ranking police officers as acting governors.
The information that Comr. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan, the former chief of the West Java Police and the Jakarta Police, will be appointed as acting governor of West Java has been buzzing since Jan. 25. At that time, the Home Ministry proposed M Iriawan and Insp. Gen. Martuani Sormin as the acting governors of West Java and North Sumatra, respectively.
The public objected. There is suspicion of political maneuvering. Political opponents suspect that the appointment of the two police generals is to secure a gubernatorial candidate in both West Java and North Sumatra. Appointing the two high-ranking police officers to civilian positions is contrary to the National Police Law.
The government gave up. State Secretary Pratikno said, "If there is public debate, it will be discussed. Such discussions are common among ministries," said Pratikno (Kompas, Jan. 30, 2018). On Feb. 24, 2018, Kompas quoted National Police chief Gen. (Pol) Tito Karnavian, who asserted that the government had cancelled the appointments of the high-ranking police officers as acting governors. The decision was made in early February after speaking with Coordinating Political, Security and Legal Affairs Minister Wiranto. The controversy subsided. The Jokowi government corrected the policies several times afterwards. This is in line with the democratic principles that President Jokowi believes in. "Democracy is listening to the people\'s voices," Jokowi said during his presidential campaign.
Following the controversy, Iriawan was appointed as the primary secretary of the National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas). Iriawan, a three-star police general, is one of the highest performing senior police officers. Then, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo took the surprise move of inaugurating Iriawan as the acting governor of West Java. Iriawan had assumed the Lemhannas position for just three months. Tjahjo said, "No laws have been violated. If this appointment breaks the law, I am ready to respond to the President."
The Home Minister was referring to Article 201, Paragraph 10 on Regional Elections in Law No. 5/2014 on the State Civil Service. Legally, the Home Minister has the authority to appoint acting governors. However, there is one more law that binds Iriawan as a member of the National Police. Article 28 of the Law on the Indonesian National Police reads: "Indonesian police officers may occupy positions outside the police force after resigning or retiring from the police force." The phrase "positions outside the police force" refers to those unrelated to the police and appointments that are not made by the National Police chief.
Will Iriawan retire from the police force? Retirement may be one option, even though an acting governor has a short term, and will he return to his post as the Lemhannas primary secretary? Or there will be a legal review filed with the court on the legality of Iriawan’s appointment?
Regardless of the legal point of view, the consistency of the statements from government officials is being tested. Are the statements of government officials still reliable? It can affect public trust!
