Doing the same task for decades should make people experts at their job or at least make them know what they are doing.
Unfortunately, that is not the case for officers of the Jakarta Public Order Agency (Satpol PP), who are still largely clueless about what exactly their duties are after more than half of century of their agency’s existence.
Being at a complete loss would perfectly describe this institution, which officially transformed from an agency responsible for the city’s public order to public enemy No. 1 right after celebrating its 60th birthday on April 8.
This drastic change happened after almost 2,000 officers attempted to clear the shrine complex of revered Muslim figure Arif Billah Hasan bin Muhammad Al Haddad, known as Mbah Priuk, in Koja, North Jakarta, on March 14, for the sake of state-owned port operator Pelindo II.
The move infuriated local residents and led to a clash, which claimed three lives and injuring 200 people, making it the city’s worst incident since the 1998 riots.
The agency is notorious for its heavy handed approach to its duties.
But despite such criticism, no one can dissolve this agency as its existence is protected under a law that touts it as an instrument that maintains public order and enforces local regulations.
The Jakarta administration has poured billions of rupiah into the agency, believing it would help the local government manage the city and make sure that order is in place.
The agency received Rp 409.8 billion (US$45.5 million) in 2010, an increase on the Rp 346.7 billion a year earlier. Meanwhile the budget in 2009 is almost triple than that allocated in 2008, data from the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Fitra) show.
Activists criticized the huge allocation of taxpayer money being spent on operations such as evictions and forcible land clearances, which do not improve the living conditions of the people.
This accusation is supported by the fact the public order budget increased by 18.2 percent in 2010, while spending on education, health and public works has been cut 1.51 percent.
Fitra found the administration allocated Rp 2 billion for officers’ uniforms, much higher than what was set aside for public nutrition improvement programs (Rp 150 million), for infant and maternal mortality rate reduction programs (Rp 366.8 million) and for health service quality improvement programs (Rp 270 million).
“The money should have been used for health, education and economic improvements,” Fitra coordinator for investigation and advocacy Uchok Sky Khadafi told The Jakarta Post recently.
Commenting on this, administration spokesman Cucu Ahmad Kurnia denied any budget misuse, citing the agency’s valuable role in maintaining public order.
“They need for equipment such as cars, which are not cheap. While for uniforms, we have 8,000 officers. We cannot have them wearing the same uniform everyday, they need at least two to three outfits,” he said.
Wardah Hafidz of the Urban Poor Consortium believed the budget misuse was “caused by the lack of public participation in the city’s governance, which allows the public order agency to reign.”
She said the government should close down the agency and hand its duties over to the police.
The public demand to dissolve the agency is high following the allegation the agency also receives money from companies that want officers to protect their businesses.
Rumors circulating among the media, say the agency and North Jakarta municipality received Rp 11 billion from Pelindo to carry out attempted Koja land clearance. Governor Fauzi Bowo denied the accusation, but confirmed his administration had received Rp 324 million.
Pelindo has laid claim to the disputed land after winning the right to it in court in 2002.
Executive director from the Indonesia Budget Center Arif Nur Alam suggested more stringent budget supervision on the agency involving the Supreme Audit Agency and the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) to track the flow of funds.
Arif also demands reform within the agency, starting from the recruitment process.
Despite the public backlash, the administration has insisted on maintaining the agency with reasons tangled in legal jargon.
Meanwhile to calm the public’s anger, Governor Fauzi Bowo suspended Public Order Agency head Harianto Badjoeri after the Koja incident.
But dismissing one Badjoeri is surely not enough to change the reputation of this agency.
