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resident Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo has encouraged members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) to raise the bar of their professionalism and take a more active role in civilian affairs.

During the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the TNI at Pantai Kiat Indah in Cilegon, Banten, Jokowi said the TNI should not minimize its role in serving the civilian population.

'€œ[The TNI should] maintain solidarity with civilians. Such solidarity will make the TNI stronger,'€ said Jokowi before 3,000 members of the Army, Navy and Air Force.

According to Jokowi, the TNI should not alienate itself from civilians or conduct activities that hurt the wider population. '€œSupported by civilians, the TNI will be powerful, feared and appreciated in the international community,'€ Jokowi said.

With around 435,000 active personnel, the TNI has increasingly engaged in roles that have traditionally been handled by civilians.

For example, TNI personnel are now hired to secure prisons and the operations of railways and airports as well as securing mining operations amid declining public trust in the graft-ridden police force and increasing doubts about the latter'€™s professionalism.

According to human rights group Imparsial, 31 agreements have been signed between the TNI and state agencies and state companies in the past two years.

Imparsial program director Al Araf called on the President to take firm action to reduce military involvement in civilian affairs and warned civilian institutions not to lure the military into politics.

'€œInvolving the TNI in non-military duties is considered an abuse of the TNI Law,'€ Al Araf said.

Law No. 34/2004 on the TNI stipulates that military operations other than wars must be approved by the state, meaning that the operations must be approved by the House of Representatives and not merely through memorandums of understanding, according to Al Araf.

Concern is rife that such involvement could leave the TNI more open to human rights violations.

Data from the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) has consistently ranked the TNI in the top-ten list of main actors committing human rights violations.

'€œWe have urged the government to prohibit the TNI from taking on non-military jobs,'€ Komnas HAM deputy chairman Roichatul Aswidah said.

During the ceremony, Jokowi also reaffirmed his commitment to improving the TNI'€™s welfare and weapons systems despite a plan by his administration to cut military spending by 6.3 percent to Rp 95.8 trillion (US$6.6 billion) next year.

'€œTrained and educated TNI personnel will not be an effective force if they are not properly rewarded,'€ said Jokowi. '€œThe state will ensure that they receive proper incentives,'€ Jokowi said, adding that the government would pay special attention to personnel serving in border areas.

Recent research by Credit Suisse placed the TNI at 19th in the world'€™s 20 strongest militaries, below ASEAN peer Thailand in 16th place.

The research ranked the US in first place followed by Russia, China, Japan and India.

The factors under consideration for military strength were number of active personnel (5 percent of total score), tanks (10 percent), attack helicopters (15 percent), aircraft (20 percent), aircraft carriers (25 percent) and submarines (25 percent).

According to Credit Suisse, the ranking did not take into account the quality of the arms and training that the militaries might have.

Although acknowledging the lack of sufficient weaponry, Jokowi stressed the importance of discipline and improved mentality among TNI personnel over defense systems.

'€œWithin five years, the TNI should be ready to confront any kind of war. Modernization in defense technology is a must but a mental revolution among the personnel is highly required,'€ Jokowi said. (foy)