TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Draft policy draws flak for allowing military, police hold civil posts
A draft government regulation which potentially allows active military and police officers to occupy civilian posts in the government institutions is problematic for betraying the democratic and Reform spirit, according to human rights watchdogs.
Change Size
Military and police personnel attend a ceremony ahead of the joint operation to safeguard the 2024 general election in Banyuwangi, East Java, on Feb. 12, 2024. (Antara/Budi Candra Setya)
A
proposed regulation that potentially allows senior military and police officers to hold civilian positions in the government has drawn criticisms from civil groups, who accused policymakers of allowing the return of New Order Era military dwifungsi (dual function).
The Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry is currently preparing a draft of a government regulation (PP) as a derivative regulation of the recently enacted State Civil Apparatus (ASN) Law.
The law, which was promulgated last November, originally sought to bring in sweeping changes to how state employees are recruited and managed. The policy also stipulates provisions on better welfare provision for millions of nonpermanent employees currently working in government offices who often receive lower wages.
It, however, elicited strong reactions from civil groups after the law introduced new passages allowing active military and police officers to occupy certain civilian positions, with details on the appointment determined in a PP.
The ministry started deliberating the key points of the draft regulation with the House of Representatives Commission II overseeing home affairs on Wednesday. They aimed to have the regulation signed by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo by April 30.
Observers slammed the regulation for potentially facilitating the return of the Indonesian Military’s (TNI) dual function, which granted officers political power and authority to govern beyond their main task of safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and enforcing law and order.
