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Hendropriyono says Jokowi offered him no position
Former chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), AM Hendropriyono, who was formerly involved in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's campaign team as an advisor, was summoned to the Palace on Monday as Jokowi mulled who will be the next BIN chief
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F
ormer chief of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), AM Hendropriyono, who was formerly involved in President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's campaign team as an advisor, was summoned to the Palace on Monday as Jokowi mulled who will be the next BIN chief.
Hendropriyono said, however, that Jokowi did not offer him any position in the government, either as the BIN chief or in any other role about which rumors had been rife, during Monday's meeting, but merely told Hendropriyono to take care of his health.
"There was no refusal, because there was no offer," Hendropriyono said after the closed-door meeting on Monday. "I once came to see him while I was ill; now, I reported [to him] that I was already recovered and ready to fight again; although I am outside the government, I will keep supporting him and his administration."
Hendropriyono was referring to his meeting in October last year when Jokowi summoned a number of potential ministerial candidates.
According to Hendropriyono, Jokowi would soon to decide on the next BIN chief. He said there were many younger people who were capable and better than him to act as BIN chief.
Activists had previously opposed Hendropriyono's involvement in Jokowi's presidential campaign.
The Solidarity Action Committee for Munir (Kasum), a coalition of human rights groups calling for justice in the case of the murdered human rights defender Munir Said Thalib, recently criticized Jokowi over the release on parole of Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, the man convicted of Munir's murder in late November last year, demanding that Jokowi fulfill his campaign promise to solve the Munir case, as well as other human rights violations.
Kasum has cited Hendropriyono's alleged involvement in the case as a factor behind Jokowi's reluctance to review the case as promised. Hendropriyono was accused of masterminding Munir's murder, although no evidence has surfaced to prove the allegation.
The government, however, has defended its decision to release Pollycarpus, offering assurances that Jokowi would still respect his earlier commitment to resolve past human rights abuses, including finding the mastermind behind Munir's murder.
Jokowi has installed four names that were close to him during the presidential campaign in his newly established agency known as the 'presidential working unit', with the latest being Luhut Binsar Panjaitan, a retired general and former advisor to his presidential election campaign team, as the unit leader
Luhut's position in the agency-- which will help Jokowi identify strategic national issues, as well as serve as a conduit for the President's communications with the public'has been described as the equivalent to the presidential chief of staff.
