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Police deny any role in politics
National Police chief Gen
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ational Police chief Gen. Sutarman on Tuesday convened a meeting with high- and middle-ranking officers, stressing that they must stay neutral in the July 9 presidential election.
National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto said all regional police chiefs were present at the meeting, which also discussed security measures for the July 9 election.
This meeting comes just one day after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono lambasted a number of active generals within the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the police for allowing themselves to be influenced by politics.
Yudhoyono alleged that representatives from presidential candidates' campaign teams had approached certain military and police generals in the hope of gaining their support.
'This is hardly slander, as my sources have confirmed,' Yudhoyono said to scores of generals at the Defense Ministry in Jakarta on Monday.
Yudhoyono made the statement days after the Constitutional Court upheld a ban on active military and police personnel voting in elections.
Responding to Yudhoyono's statement, another police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar defended his institution.
'We haven't found any indication of this. What the President said was more of an order for us to behave,' Boy said.
At least two police generals are known to have maintained amicable relations with the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) camp, which is backing Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo and Jusuf Kalla.
Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan, the chief of the National Police's education division, was the presidential adjutant of Megawati Soekarnoputri between 2001 and 2004. The general has reportedly maintained ties with the PDI-P chairwoman.
Budi allegedly played a significant role in pairing Jokowi with Kalla, a report he quickly denied.
Budi made headlines in 2010 following a leaked Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (PPATK) report, which said he had received transfers from unknown parties worth Rp 95 billion (US$8.17 million).
Another general reportedly involved in politics is Insp. Gen. Syafruddin, the chief of the National Police's internal affairs division. Syafruddin was Kalla's assistant during his tenure as vice president between 2004 and 2009.
Syafruddin was promoted to lead the police in North Sumatra in 2009 and South Kalimantan the following year. It is said that Kalla and Syafruddin, who both hail from South Sulawesi, meet regularly.
Syafruddin confirmed he was close to Kalla but had not supported his political campaign.
'Myself and Kalla's other former adjutants from the Army, Navy and Air Force visit Kalla on his birthday, his children's wedding and Idul Fitri. We see Kalla as our own parent, but we are not involved in his politics,' he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday.
Speculation was rife that Yudhoyono's ire was directed at TNI Commander Gen. Moeldoko, who had been tapped as a running mate for Jokowi.
In April, Moeldoko met with Jokowi amid speculation that he could be the right figure for the Jokowi ticket. At the time, several PDI-P executives hinted at the possibility of Moeldoko being nominated as Jokowi's running mate.
Moeldoko himself was vague when asked about his response to the proposal.
'If I were to refuse the offer then everybody would call me arrogant but if I said yes, well, the fact is that I am still carrying out my duties as military commander. Therefore, I will focus my energy on the latter right now,' Moeldoko told The Jakarta Post in March.
Last week, the Constitutional Court upheld a ban on active members of the military and police from voting in elections, after receiving appeals for the 2008 Presidential Election Law to be reviewed.
Following Yudhoyono's speech, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Budiman gave an assurance that his institution would remain neutral in the presidential election, citing the Army's neutral stance in the April 9 legislative election as proof of this.
'We will stay neutral, right down to the lowest level of command at the village level,' Budiman said.
Budiman also denied a high-ranking officer in the Army was leaning toward one of the presidential candidates.
'We will not discredit our own institution by being biased,' he said.
