Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian will soon be named as the next National Police chief to replace retiring Gen. Badrodin Haiti after he passed a confirmation hearing with the House of Representatives on Thursday.

During his meeting with House Commission III overseeing human rights and legal affairs, Tito said he would optimize the mapping of radical and intolerant groups as an early detection and preventive measure.

According to Tito, who is the current National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) chief, despite terrorist groups becoming more dynamic, the National Police do not yet have a single mapping system of radicalism in the country.

“Don’t forget that we also have to encourage public participation to counteract radicalism,” Tito told the commission.

Countering radicalism and intolerance in the country is only one of the 11 priority programs he plans to implement during his leadership of the National Police, but they were not without scrutiny. During Thursday’s hearing, most of the lawmakers from 10 factions asked how Tito could balance law enforcement with human rights protection.

As a former chief of the National Police’s antiterrorist squad (Densus 88), Tito is recognized as an officer who knows about countering terrorism, but he also has a problematic record on human rights.

Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker Habib Aboe Bakar Al Habsyi said the commission received objections to Tito’s appointment from several rights groups as he was deemed anti-democratic. One example was a Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) document showing that Tito allegedly arrested 26 rights workers, two Legal Aid (LBH) lawyers and a college student during a labor rally in front of the State Palace on Oct. 20, 2015, when he was still in charge of the Jakarta Police.

Another example was a series of raids on terrorist training camps in several areas in Aceh, including in Aceh Besar, Lhokseumawe, Banda Aceh and Meulaboh, by Densus 88 in 2010 when Tito led the squad. During the raids Densus 88 wrongly arrested a total of 15 people and shot dead five civilians.

As Tito mentioned strengthening Densus 88 in his priority program, lawmakers were worried as to what he meant.

“We want more humane police programs, including in countering terrorism. The police should in the future be able to embrace the public, not only perform firmly and with weapons,” Herman Herry of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) said.

Tito acknowledged that the public’s trust in the police was low, and that one of the reasons was because the police’s Densus 88 often acted aggressively against terrorism suspects.

The scrutiny grew heavier after the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) revealed that around 121 terrorist suspects had been killed by Densus 88.

In response, Tito promised that under his leadership, he would uphold human rights when combating terrorism. His first step would be to strengthen coordination with Komnas HAM to brief police officers, particularly Densus 88 members, about human rights-based counter-terrorism.

He will also hold a special briefing with Densus’ senior officials and other former chiefs about combating terrorism without violating human rights. “So that they can be more careful in using their powers,” he said.

However, he emphasized that tough measures were sometimes needed as terrorists acted ruthlessly, endangering police officers and the public.

To support reforms, Tito plans to increase performance incentives for all police officers to improve their welfare. Moreover, better incentives will hopefully reduce corruption within the police institution.

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