House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie has said he disagrees with a ministerial decree that allows public order officers to carry weapons.
“They'd better not [carry weapons], but I think wooden clubs would be okay,” Marzuki said in Jakarta as quoted by Tempointeraktif.com.
He suggested the government educate officers about morals and improve the quality of mission briefings so that officers were better equipped to accomplish missions peacefully.
The Home Ministry issued a regulation in late March that would allow public order officers to carry gas pistols, blank-firing pistols, tear gas launchers and tasers.
Public order officers have been the subject of criticism for resorting to violence in eviction operations. A massive clash between officers and residents at a memorial in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, claimed several lives recently.
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