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National Police appoints new chiefs of antiterror bodies
In its latest leadership reshuffle, the National Police on Friday named two police generals as leaders of antiterrorism bodies.
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Personnel of the National Police's antiterrorism squad Densus 88 and the Riau Police's bomb squad secure evidence during a raid on June 2, 2018 at Riau University's School of Social and Political Sciences. (Antara/Rony Muharrman)
In a leadership reshuffle on Friday, the National Police named two police generals leaders of antiterrorism bodies.
Brig. Gen. Marthinus Hukom was promoted to lead the National Police’s Densus 88 counterterrorism squad. Previously the squad’s deputy chief, the one-star police general is succeeding Insp. Gen. Muhammad Syafii, who took the role in 2017, tempo.co reported.
The police named former Papua Police chief Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar head of the National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT), succeeding Comr. Gen. Suhardi Alius. Prior to the promotion, Boy served as the deputy chief of the police’s education and training institute (Lemdiklat).
Boy, who graduated from the National Police Academy in Semarang, Central Java, in 1988, served as the Papua Police chief from April 2017 to August 2018, when he was assigned to the Lemdiklat. Prior to his assignment in Papua, he had also served both as a National Police and Jakarta Police spokesman as well as the Banten Police chief.
Syafii and Suhardi have taken new roles as policy analysts in the police’s criminal investigation department (Bareskrim). East Java Police chief Luki Hermawan has taken over Boy’s post at Lemdiklat.
Indonesia Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane criticized National Police Chief Gen. Idham Azis’ decision to name Boy BNPT chairman, calling it maladministration.
He argued it was the President’s authority to appoint and inaugurate the BNPT chairman, not the National Police chief’s, as stipulated in a 2010 presidential regulation on the BNPT.
While the antiterror agency had previously been led by police generals, Neta said the police chief only had the authority to recommend a name to the President to fill the position.
“IPW saw there was an administrative mistake in the appointment of Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar as the new BNPT chairman as stipulated in the National Police chief’s telegram. Therefore, we recommend the decision be annulled,” Neta said as quoted by Antara news agency.
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Idham also made some officers regional police chiefs on Friday.
Insp. Gen. Aris Budiman, who once served as director of investigations at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), was appointed as the Riau Islands Police chief. Former National Police spokesmen Insp. Gen. Muhammad Iqbal and Brig. Gen. Dedi Prasetyo were appointed to lead the West Nusa Tenggara Police and the Central Kalimantan Police, respectively.
Central Java Police deputy chief Brig. Gen. Ahmad Luthfi was promoted to head the provincial force. He replaced Insp. Gen. Rycko Amelza Dahniel, who was promoted to become the head of the National Police’s security intelligence unit. (aly)
Editor's note: This article has been updated to include comments made by Indonesia Police Watch on Boy's appointment as BNPT chairman.
