Besides the election, the training was also aimed at beefing up security during the Cap Go Meh Festival in Singkawang on Feb. 11, which will also be attended by President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo. 

The training was held in Singkawang on Saturday and involved 440 police officers, 125 members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and 77 local residents. Members of the local General Elections Commissions (KPU) and elections supervisory committees also took part in the training.

West Kalimantan Police chief Insp. Gen Musyafak said the training was held as an effort to anticipate any possible problems.

"[We hope] to prevent what we are able to prevent and respond to anything that cannot be avoided. The training was held to ensure that we have the same perceptions on personnel deployment, personnel potential, step-by-step [security processes] and facilities that can be used by each party to cope with any possible untoward incident,” Musyafak said.

(Read also: Distribution of election logistics in Kalimantan prioritized remote districts)

The TFG itself involved a simulation using maps of Landak and Singkawang. A number of tools and scenarios were used to get the police and TNI personnel prepared for any situation.

Public relations staffer at the West Kalimantan Police Adj. Comr. Cucu Safiyudin said the simulation was designed as a situation where mass chaos took place.

Landak, which is located around 183 kilometers from the provincial capital of West Kalimantan, Pontianak, has a sole candidate pair with 253,579 voters. Singkawang itself, which is situated around 151 kilometers from Pontianak, has four candidate pairs and a total of 155,514 voters. (trw)

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