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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo has instructed the police to take the necessary action to anticipate potential horizontal conflicts and to quell any political tensions ahead of the 2018 regional elections.

“The political temperature will rise [...] particularly when it comes to the campaign period. That’s politics. I know that well. It is acceptable [for the temperature] to rise, but not too high. It’s our responsibility to control it,” Jokowi told regional police and precinct police chiefs from across the country at the Semarang Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java, on Monday.

The former Surakarta mayor and Jakarta governor has experience running in three regional elections and one presidential race,

Jokowi said he wanted the police to identify the regions that had the potential for conflict and social clashes and set out relevant preventive measures.

Any parties that might incite trouble must be closely monitored, therefore, the force’s intelligence must be strengthened, the President added.

“We can’t wait until incidents happen. Preventive measures are priority,” Jokowi said. “If [certain individuals] spread hoaxes or incitement that could have a dangerous impact, they must be brought to account, no matter who they are.”

Across the country 171 provinces, regencies and cities will concurrently hold elections in 2018 to elect their regional leaders, including West Java, Central Java and East Java, the country’s three most-populous provinces.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said that West Java, Papua and West Kalimantan were among the regions prone to trouble.

The most populated province of West Java is no stranger to social conflicts, most triggered by allegations of vote-rigging and issues related to ethnicity, religion or race (SARA).

Meanwhile, Papua and West Papua provinces are always on the list of hot spots during elections. Many of the conflicts in the country’s easternmost region result from fierce rivalries between supporters of political parties or candidates and a lack of trust in election organizers caused by suspicions of election fraud.

West Kalimantan, meanwhile, was a region where issues related to SARA were very sensitive, Tito said.

“We’re now preparing anticipatory measures. Any police precinct chiefs who are not committed to the measures aimed at anticipating conflicts will be dismissed and replaced by other officers who are more capable,” Tito, a former Papua Police chief, said.

He went on to say that the police would also cooperate with all relevant stakeholders, such as the General Elections Commission (KPU), Election Supervisory Committees (Panwaslu) and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

“A good relationship between the police and the military is a must,” Tito said.

He admitted that his institution was not fully trusted by the public in 2016. But Tito claimed the force had climbed the ladder to rank fourth in the list of Indonesia’s most trusted institutions.

The police and TNI have recently been involved in a standoff centering on the procurement of munitions by the police. TNI Commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo, in a leaked statement, said that the procurement was inappropriate.

Last week, Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto summoned Tito and Gatot, as well as other relevant officials, to resolve the matter, which resulted in a conclusion that it was merely a “misunderstanding” caused by “overlapping regulations related to the procurement of weapons.”

Djemi Amnifu contributed to the story from Kupang