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New chiefs promise big things
Newly inaugurated State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso, 70, and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen
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Newly inaugurated State Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief Sutiyoso, 70, and Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, 55, have stated their intention to pursue major reform.
Speaking shortly after being inaugurated by President Joko 'Jokowi' Widodo at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday, Sutiyoso laid out his plan to sharpen BIN's focus on counterintelligence measures.
Sutiyoso, who replaced Lt. Gen. (ret.) Marciano Norman, is planning a shopping spree to acquire sophisticated eavesdropping technology to boost counterintelligence.
'In the near future, countermeasures will be required. Therefore, we need to have super-sophisticated equipment,' said Sutiyoso, adding that it was time for BIN to respond to the challenges of modern intelligence technology.
'My priorities will also include adding personnel, as we want to be ready for the upcoming local elections,' he said.
According to Sutiyoso, BIN will immediately recruit 1,000 agents of various skills and backgrounds to add to its existing 1,975 personnel. BIN, he said, would aim to have a staff of around 5,000 agents in the next couple of years.
The former intelligence agent also reiterated his strategy to make BIN more open in its interaction with the public.
'Intelligence needs information from various sources. Therefore, in the future, BIN will be more open to the public to give a chance to the people to provide us with information,' he said.
Sutiyoso secured unanimous approval from all 10 political parties in the House of Representatives for his candidacy as BIN chief despite his alleged masterminding, as then Jakarta military commander, of an attack on the headquarters of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP-P) in Central Jakarta on July 26, 1996. Dozens of party members were killed in the incident
In terms of regional diplomacy, Sutiyoso also has a historical burden, particularly in regard to his alleged role in the death of five Australian journalists in Timor Leste in 1975.
Sutiyoso is the second retired Indonesian Army general targeted by an Australian state coroner in relation to the incident.
While Sutiyoso has pledged to make BIN more active in society, Gatot has opposing plans.
Unlike his predecessor Gen. Moeldoko, who initiated an aggressive return of the military into civilian affairs, Gatot insisted that he would predominantly be occupied with internal reform, particularly in updating equipment.
In the wake of last week's crash of an Air Force Hercules aircraft that killed more than 120 people in Medan, North Sumatra, Gatot said that his immediate priority would be to modernize the Air Force's aircraft and equipment.
'The President has instructed us to use new [military systems], particularly for the Air Force. Therefore I will hold immediate meetings to have the instruction swiftly implemented,' said Gatot.
He added that the TNI would support Jokowi's vision of a maritime axis by also improving the Navy's fleet and infrastructure.
Although he has yet to discuss the plan with his counterparts in the Navy and Air Force, Gatot said he foresaw more vessels, warplanes and radar systems being put in place.
Gatot is a graduate of the military academy's 1982 class. He is a former Army Strategic Reserves Command (Kostrad) commander and was Army chief before being installed as TNI supremo.
'I will engage in military diplomacy with ASEAN countries. ASEAN can be a role model in the synergy of military forces,' he said.
'It is also important to create a favorable regional situation that will also support the economy,' he said, adding that he would propose joint military training with ASEAN member states.
Critics have warned that the appointment of Gatot could be a setback to attempts to reform the military, which have been ongoing since the end of the New Order era in 1998. Jokowi broke from the tradition of rotating the TNI leadership, raising fears that the Army could regain its dominance within the TNI.
The Army's Moeldoko succeeded the Navy's Adm. Agus Suhartono in 2013. Had Jokowi kept up the tradition, the baton would have been passed to Air Force chief of staff Air Chief Marshall Agus Supriatna.
