Placement of active military and police personnel outside their institutions could possibly violate prevailing laws, head of the ombudsman’s Jakarta office Teguh Nugroho said.

He was referring to Indonesian Navy officer Lt. Col. Deri Anton, who is the head of the transportation company’s operation security division, as well as police officials Adj. Sr. Comr. Titik Setiowati and Adj. Comr. Miyarsih, who head the company’s corridor sterilization and human resources departments, respectively.

Teguh said there was alleged maladministration because a 2004 law stipulated that active military personnel could only serve in a civil role after resigning or retiring. The law also specifies that active military personnel may only serve in several state institutions related to their background such as in the military’s defense and security functions including offices in charge of the state defense, intelligence, search-and-rescue, antinarcotics body and the Supreme Court.

Similarly, he also questioned the placement of police personnel in Transjakarta, citing that based on the 2002 National Police Law, active police personnel could only serve a role outside of their institution after resigning or retiring.

Teguh said such placement had been going on since the beginning of the operation of Transjakarta, which was under the leadership of former Jakarta governor Sutiyoso.

It was allegedly done in an attempt to strengthen security due to the transformation of public roads into Transjakarta bus lanes at the time.

However, he said, it was unnecessary for military and police personnel to be involved in the organizational structure, saying that institutional cooperation could take place instead.

“Such as signing a memorandum of understanding handing jurisdiction to the military police if any Indonesian Military use the Transjakarta lane. So, the form should be institutional cooperation,” he told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.

“Also, it prevents Transjakarta employees at the lower level from being able to progress in their career path,” he added.

The ombudsman in Jakarta, he said, was currently conducting verification following reports filed by residents over the matter. The agency is tasked with overseeing complaints about public services.

“We have asked for clarification from Transjakarta and they have confirmed it,” Teguh claimed.

The ombudsman would also dig deeper into the case as part of the examination to find whether the placement was contradictory with existing rules and regulations, he added.

The whole process can take two weeks or up to a maximum of one month.

As a representative for the interests of the public by addressing complaints of maladministration, Teguh said the ombudsman would issue a report that includes corrective actions to the firm to prevent a recurrence. The report could also include suggestions for Transjakarta to improve its management.

Responding to the issue, Transjakarta corporate secretary Nadia Diposanjoyo confirmed that the firm had communicated with the ombudsman’s Jakarta office.

She said that such placement had possibly taken place due to unawareness of the existing regulations. However, she argued that the move was deemed understandable due to the necessity to secure state assets as Transjakarta serves as the first and only expansive bus rapid transit in the capital city.

“We are currently in the process of improvement. If the law stipulates that it is prohibited, we will obey it,” she said.

She also claimed that the firm had communicated with the military and police personnel in the Transjakarta management.

Nadia did not give further details when asked about the type of improvement, but she said the company was open to the possibility of cooperation under an operations control assistance (BKO) mechanism with the military and police.

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