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We need Budi Gunawan's connections: Police chief
National Police chief Gen
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ational Police chief Gen. Badrodin Haiti defended on Thursday his selection of controversial officer Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan as his deputy, saying that Budi had the most extensive network of political connections needed to safeguard the police's interests.
"He's superb at conception and has a wide perspective and extensive connections. His diplomacy is also excellent," said Badrodin.
"A senior police officer who has no connections and is without public support will be in a very difficult position. That's why we're taking advantage of Budi's unrivaled network," he said.
Budi is a close associate of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's political patron, Megawati Soekarnoputri, chairperson of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle. He is also close to Vice President Jusuf Kalla and the chairmen of other major political parties.
He was officially sworn in during a closed-door ceremony on Wednesday at the National Police headquarters on Jl. Trunojoyo, South Jakarta.
Jokowi initially proposed Budi as the police chief in January, but withdrew the proposal days later, after the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) declared Budi a graft suspect.
The KPK transferred Budi's case to the Attorney General's Office (AGO) after the National Police named the antigraft body's two leaders suspects in separate cases that many believed were engineered by the police. The AGO then forwarded Budi's case to the police for investigation. (ren)(+++)
