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Police ask for budget increase in 2019
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The National Police have requested more money to fund their operations and programs in 2019, including in securing the upcoming legislative and presidential elections, as well as in improving counterterrorism operations.
(Persda Network via kompas.com/Bina Harnansa)
T
he National Police have requested more money to fund their operations and programs in 2019, including in securing the upcoming legislative and presidential elections, as well as in improving counterterrorism operations.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said that as the Rp 76.9 trillion (US$5.5 billion) earmarked in the government's 2019 state budget proposal was not enough to cover their operations, they requested Rp 120 trillion in funds.
The police received around Rp 95 trillion in 2018.
Tito made the appeal during a hearing with the House of Representatives on Tuesday, as lawmakers will soon discuss the 2019 state budget with the government.
Tito said the budget would be mainly spent on security for the 2019 legislative and presidential elections, which will require high levels of security, and improving personnel performance.
“We hope we can increase the performance allowance by up to 70 percent. We want to guarantee their welfare so that they can perform optimally,” Tito said.
The proposed increase, Tito added, would allow the police to expand their elite counterterrorism unit, Densus 88.
The police are among the institutions that are consistently allocated a large budget every year. They received Rp 95 trillion in 2018 –up from Rp 84 trillion in 2017 and Rp 73 trillion in 2016 – to allow the corps to prepare for the simultaneous regional elections. (ipa)
