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New spy agency is unnecessary: Vice President Jusuf Kalla
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Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu (the jakarta post/Wienda Parwitasari)
T
he Defense Ministry's plan to establish its own intelligence agency is unnecessary, Vice President Jusuf Kalla says on Tuesday.
Even though the government had yet to make comprehensive discussion about the realization of the plan, Kalla asserted that the newly spy agency was in-fact not an urgency in the present.
"[The government] haven't discussed anything, but I can assure that we don't need too much agencies in the meantime," Kalla said as quoted by kompas.com.
The officials should initially conduct in-depth assessment on the intelligence body planning since it is feared that the newly spy body would overlap with the National Intelligence Agency (BIN), Kalla said.
Earlier, Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu announced the plan to establish an intelligence body under the Defense Ministry, which aimed to dig deeper on information needed for the country's defense interests.
While the Indonesian Military (TNI) had its intelligence body for gathering information to make operational defense plan, the Ministry needed the spy body to make strategic defense plan, Ryamizard said.
However, the plan has drawn controversy from various parties, with rights watchdog Setara Institute criticizing the Defense Ministry for its lack of willingness to coordinate with the country's existing intelligence bodies. (afr/dmr)
