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Candidates for Maritime Security Board leadership still being discussed
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Final days: Outgoing Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) head Vice Admiral Arie Soedewo (second left) talks to Bakamla officers during his visit to the body’s western zone base in Batam, Riau Islands, on Tuesday. (JP/Fadli)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo is still considering whom to appoint as the replacement of Maritime Security Board (Bakamla) head Vice Admiral Arie Soedewo, who is about to retire.
Arie told The Jakarta Post on Monday that he would officially retire on June 1. However, the name of his replacement remains unknown, as the matter is still being processed by President Jokowi.
“Normatively, I’m retired now, but the appointment process of my replacement is still being worked on by the government,” Arie said on a visit to Bakamla’s western base in Batam.
He said his replacement would be a three-star Indonesian Navy general. “I don’t know who my replacement is,” he said.
Arie played down speculation that his replacement might be one of three officials previously discussed as successors of Indonesian Navy Admiral (ret.) Ade Supandi. They are Navy deputy chief of staff Vice Adm. Achmad Taufiqoerrochman, TNI chief of general staff Vice Adm. Didit Herdiawan Ashaf and the military's Staff and Command School’s (Sesko) head Lt. Gen. (Mar) RM Trusono.
“I cannot mention any name,” Arie asserted. He expressed hope that his replacement could cooperate with other stakeholders so as to strengthen the role of Bakamla as a maritime security coordinator.
Arie had been implicated in a bribery case related to the procurement of an observation satellite in 2016. Arie was accused of having lured Commodore Bambang Udoyo, a Navy officer who was appointed to Bakamla as its data and information director, and other Bakamla officers to accept portions of the illicit money. Bambang was sentenced to four years and six months of imprisonment in December last year.
Arie was questioned last year by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) as a witness in the case. (ebf)
