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Will the young bring reform?
The nomination came as no surprise, given the long-standing relationship between Jokowi and Listyo.
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n Wednesday, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo not only kick-started mass vaccination for COVID-19; he also submitted to the House of Representatives his sole candidate for the National Police chief post.
Jokowi nominated National Police detective chief Comr. Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo as the replacement for National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis, who is retiring. The nomination came as no surprise, given the long-standing relationship between Jokowi and Listyo.
Having served as the Surakarta Police chief in 2011 when Jokowi was the city’s mayor, Listyo began his mercurial career path when President Jokowi entrusted him as an adjutant in 2014. In fact, Listyo is emulating the country’s prominent military and police officers who reached greater heights after stints as the President’s close aide.
At 51 years old, Listyo is the youngest of five contenders recommended by the National Police Commission for the top police post last week. This procedure might have just been a formality as Jokowi could have been grooming Listyo all along. Jokowi would have chosen someone he has known and trusted for a long time anyway.
The President’s subjectivity is his prerogative, as he is ultimately the one who is in charge of national security and enforcement of the law. Jokowi has in the process defied the fact that Listyo’s nomination will bury the chances of many senior officers from the Police Academy. This also happened when Jokowi nominated Tito Karnavian as the police chief in 2016 (until today, Tito, the home minister, is still an active police general).
Jokowi has also broken the long-held tradition of nominating a police chief candidate who has led the provincial police in a strategic area such as Jakarta. Tito, Idham and many other past and current police chiefs are formerly Jakarta Police chiefs, while Listyo’s only territorial assignment was the police chief of Banten, Jakarta’s neighboring province.
Nevertheless, Listyo’s stint in Banten, however brief, was historic as he was the first Catholic to lead the police corps in the province, known for its Islamic conservatism. The House’s endorsement of Listyo’s nomination will therefore be historic too, as he will be the first non-Muslim National Police chief since Widodo Budidarmo in 1974.
As the detective chief, Listyo could claim success for arresting fugitive Djoko S. Tjandra, who has admitted to bribing Brig Gen. Prasetyo Utomo – Listyo’s classmate in the Police Academy – to obtain a document that allowed him to enter and exit Indonesia.
Given the fact that the House is dominated by the ruling coalition, most likely lawmakers will endorse Listyo’s nomination after an interview slated for Tuesday next week. The question now is how committed Listyo is to the much-desired police reform, particularly following a year in which police brutality under the pretext of law enforcement took place across the country throughout last year.
With the young taking charge, hopes for changes to the police’s image should not be wishful thinking.
