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resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo wants village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) to play a role in rooting out radicalism and preventing the spread of hoaxes.

Jokowi made the remarks in front of hundreds of Babinsa members on Sunday in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

Babinsa personnel work under an Army division and operate on a village level to serve as the front line of information-gathering.

Jokowi said maintaining security at grass roots level across the archipelagic country was not an easy task, calling on Babinsa to use a soft approach to solve any potential problems rather than using a repressive method.

“With a country as big as ours, each region has its own characters and ways to solve its problems,” he said. “That’s why Babinsa’s role is important.”

Jokowi made similar remarks two weeks ago while he was visiting Babinsa members in Bandung, West Java.

Jokowi has called Babinsa the ears and eyes of the public. He announced last month a roughly seven-fold increase in the monthly operational allowance for Babinsa. Speculation was immediately raised at that time that Jokowi’s move was politically motivated, but Jokowi, who is running for re-election next year, has dismissed the concerns.