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Security heightened ahead of presidential inauguration
To the top we go: A motorcyclist passes a mural depicting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin in Kampung Punggawan in Banjarsari, Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday
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o the top we go: A motorcyclist passes a mural depicting President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin in Kampung Punggawan in Banjarsari, Surakarta, Central Java, on Wednesday. The mural was created to welcome the Oct. 20 inauguration of Jokowi and Ma’ruf as the president and vice president for the 2019-2024 term.(Antara/Mohammad Ayudha)
As the inauguration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and vice president-elect Ma’ruf Amin approaches, all elements of security are being enhanced to ensure the event passes smoothly.
The inauguration is slated for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with the presidential convoy set to embark from the State Palace to the House of Representatives complex.
For the event, the National Police and the Indonesian Military (TNI) will deploy 31,000 personnel, Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said.
“We will make three rings of security levels. The first ring is around the House building by the Presidential Security Detail [Paspampres] team, the second ring is in the immediate area of the House complex, and the third ring is outside the House complex area by both the police and military personnel,” Argo said.
On Tuesday, the House, the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), the Regional Representatives Council (DPD), the General Elections Commission (KPU), the TNI, the State Secretariat and the State Intelligence Agency (BIN) held a meeting at the House complex to prepare for the inauguration.
“Thank God, the [national] police chief [Gen. Tito Karnavian], the military commander [Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto] and the BIN have given an assurance that the security will be maintained and manageable for the inauguration event at 2:30 p.m. on Oct. 20,” MPR Speaker Bambang Soesatyo said on Tuesday.
The inauguration will start with President Jokowi receiving foreign dignitaries.
“At the State Palace in the morning, Pak President will receive courtesy calls from foreign heads of states who will attend the inauguration. In the afternoon [the President] will head to the MPR building,” Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko said during a press conference on the inauguration preparations on Wednesday.
He said that after the inauguration ceremony, Jokowi would return to the State Palace to immediately continue working, but declined to say whether Jokowi would name his new Cabinet at the same time.
He said that the State Palace would not hold any special events except perhaps public prayers with vice president-elect Ma’ruf, who is also the chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI).
Moeldoko added that people could hold syukuran (gathering of thanksgiving to God) events for the inauguration if they wished to, although Jokowi would prefer to return to work immediately. Even the volunteer group supporting Jokowi, known as Projo, had agreed to cancel its planned street parade in Jakarta.
The police have also decided not to allow any protests to take place from Oct. 15 until after the inauguration on Oct. 20.
“The policy will apply from Tuesday until Oct. 20. We will not grant any protest permits should any individual or organization file a request,” Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Gatot Eddy Purnama said as quoted by kompas.com on Monday.
Moeldoko said the government only advised people to hold off on public protests until after Oct. 20 as the inauguration was an event that the nation had waited for.
“Constitutionally, nobody is banning public protests, only that I advise students and everyone else to hold them off until after Oct. 20,” he added.
A series of public protests turned violent last month, and earlier this month Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto was stabbed in Pandeglang, Banten. The latter incident set alarm bells ringing on the major flaws in the country's security for high-ranking officials.
The incident also led to a roundup of suspected terrorists in several regions.
However, National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo said the police were ready and had planned everything according to their standard operating procedures.
The Jakarta Police’s traffic unit will also deploy additional officers to implement traffic diversions with certain roads closed on Oct. 20.
“We will double the number of officers on the roads. While we usually have 1,500 officers on duty, on Oct. 20, 3,000 will be deployed to secure the area,” Jakarta Police traffic unit chief Sr. Comr. Yusuf said on Sunday.
