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Police, military, BIN not neutral in elections: SBY
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“What I said about the subjectivity of individuals in the BIN, TNI and police is real. This really happens. This is not a hoax,” SBY said on Saturday. (Antara/Akbar Nugroho Gumay)
F
ormer president and Democratic Party chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) said on Saturday that many individuals in the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police and National Intelligence Agency (BIN) support certain candidates in elections, both in the past and present.
State organizations, SBY said, must maintain neutrality in elections, but instead, the opposite takes place.
“What I said about the subjectivity of individuals in the BIN, TNI and police is real. This really happens. This is not a hoax,” SBY said on Saturday as quoted by tempo.co.
Several anomalies could be seen in the Jakarta gubernatorial election in 2017, he said, one of them being how Sylviana Murni, the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Agus Harimurti Yudhoyono, SBY’s son, was summoned several times by the police.
At that time, Sylviana was summoned as a witness over alleged corruption in the construction of a mosque located near the Central Jakarta mayor's office.
SBY further recalled how during the election, former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chairman Antasari Azhar suddenly cited his name as the person responsible for the murder charges that resulted in Antasari being sentenced to 18 years in prison.
“My credibility was destroyed. I have reported to the police but there was no progress until today,” he said.
However, he also said he did not blame the individuals. “If a mistake happened, the soldiers are not to blame because the ones who are mistaken are their misguided leaders. Remember that,” he said.
In response to SBY’s statement, Komarudin Watubun, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), said the former president was once again playing the victim. Critics of SBY often say playing the victim is his strategy in politics.
"The public already know that SBY is worried that his own way of thinking when he was a president [would work against him],” Komaruddin said on Sunday as quoted by kompas.com. (hol/evi)
