The House of Representatives has all but cemented its decision to approve President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo'€™s nomination of retired Army general Sutiyoso as the new chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN).

The head of House Commission I overseeing intelligence, defense and foreign affairs, Mahfudz Siddiq, said that all 10 political party factions had given their approval to Sutiyoso following his four-hour fit-and-proper test on Tuesday.

'€œIn passing judgment on the interview session, Commission I has decided to accept and support Sutiyoso as the sole candidate for BIN chief,'€ Mahfudz said in his closing remarks before striking the gavel to end the meeting at the House complex in Jakarta.

Speaking after hearing of the official support from Commission I, Sutiyoso vowed to make the intelligence agency more open in terms of public participation and information sharing, while at the same time overturning public perception of BIN as a scourge of the masses.

'€œThe people need not see BIN as something to be feared, as BIN belongs to us all,'€ Sutiyoso told reporters.

He, however, asked the public to be understanding about his unwillingness to comment on certain intelligence issues, as his future duty prevented him from doing so.

Furthermore, Sutiyoso said he would consult with the House when considering an increase in the intelligence body'€™s 2016 budget, which he deemed '€œtoo little for an agency at the frontline of national security'€.

Before announcing the decision, Commission I conducted the interview in a closed session, leaving it unknown how the lawmakers scrutinized Sutiyoso over his alleged involvement in Kuda Tuli, a fatal incident in 1996 that saw five people dead and hundreds injured during an attack on the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) headquarters in Jakarta.

The retired Army general was the Jakarta Military Command commander at that time and is considered responsible for the incident.

Sutiyoso served two terms as Jakarta governor and once expressed his intention to contest the presidential elections in 2009. Sutiyoso'€™s name first surfaced as a candidate to be BIN director last November, alongside a number of Army heavyweights.

According to Mahfudz, representatives of the Hanura Party, the National Awakening Party (PKB), the National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Gerindra Party have all given their unanimous blessing, while other parties requested of the former Jakarta governor several assurances in exchange for their vote of confidence.

Mahfudz said, for instance, that the Nasdem Party would only approve Sutiyoso if he promised to work to improve communications between BIN and Commission I.

The Democratic Party has asked Sutiyoso '€” himself a former chairman of ruling-coalition member the Indonesian Justice and Unity Party (PKPI) '€” to make the intel body more effective in its coordination role and to put the nation ahead of politics, remaining neutral throughout.

The Golkar Party echoed some of these sentiments, Mahfudz continued, but added that the BIN chief-elect must '€œadapt his communication style to suit his role as a public figure'€.

Sutiyoso has also received a nod from the PDI-P. Mahfudz said that the PDI-P had attached a note to its approval, stating that Sutiyoso should only operate within the confines of the law and prioritize the needs of the public over the needs of certain groups.

Earlier that day, PDI-P lawmaker and Commission I member Pramono Anung said that party leader Megawati Soekarnoputri had instructed the party'€™s House faction to secure and support Sutiyoso'€™s candidacy as BIN chief.

Pramono argued that this was because Jokowi has chosen him personally and the PDI-P would support the choice of the President.

Indonesian Human Rights Watch (Imparsial) executive director Poengky Indarti told The Jakarta Post that the House should have issued complaints regarding Sutiyoso'€™s nomination, urging President Jokowi to find someone else to fill the top intelligence spot.

'€œBIN faces increasingly complex obstacles. House Commission I'€™s decision to accept Sutiyoso with acclamation is troubling, considering his poor human rights track record and his role as a former party leader, as well as his New Order-laced experiences in the military and in intelligence,'€ Poengky said on Tuesday.

'€” Dylan Amirio contributed to the story.

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