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View all search resultsMajority of reform team back keeping police under president
The police reform commission has said the majority of members favor keeping the force under the direct command of the President.
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New police officers perform during a commissioning ceremony on July 23, 2025 for around 2,000 graduates from military and police academies at the Merdeka Palace in Central Jakarta. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
T
he majority of members of the police reform commission established by President Prabowo Subianto favor keeping the National Police under the direct command of the President, the commission said on Wednesday.
Debates over whether the police should remain directly under the President have resurfaced after the commission itself, tasked with reviewing changes to the force, unveiled last week that they were weighing placing it under the supervision of a ministry, either through an existing or a newly created one.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, commission member Yusril Ihza Mahendra however said that most members have in fact supported maintaining the current system that allows the police chief to report directly to the President.
“The majority still want the structure to remain as it is, with the National Police chief reporting to the President,” said Yusril, who is also Office of the Coordinating Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Correctional Services Minister, citing the prevailing police law, as reported by Kompas.com.
Despite this preference, Yusril stressed that the final decision regarding the police’s institutional structure rested entirely with the President.
The proposed change has sparked strong pushback from police chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo, also a commission member, who told lawmakers on Monday that he would rather step down and “become a farmer”, even if he was offered the position of a “police minister”.
Read also: Police chief opposes proposal to place police under ministry
