The Government Examines the Rules for Placing Police Officers in Ministries

JAKARTA - The government is studying the arrangement for the placement of personnel of the National Police of the Republic of Indonesia (Polri) in ministries and agencies to clarify the limits of authority, amid the affirmation that the institution's position remains directly under the president.

Deputy Coordinating Minister for Legal, Human Rights, Immigration, and Corrections Otto Hasibuan said the government's discussion was not related to a change in the institutional position of the National Police, but rather a technical arrangement for the placement of personnel in ministries.

"In the meeting, there was a discussion regarding the position of officials from the National Police who can be placed in the ministry. We assess that there needs to be further regulation regarding this matter," he said as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, May 6.

He assessed that until now there is no clear rule regarding what positions can be filled by Polri personnel in the environment of ministries and agencies.

According to him, a firm regulation is needed regarding the positions that can be filled, including the possibility of placement at the level of general secretary, general directorate, and other specific positions in various institutions.

Otto explained that the government was drafting the concept of regulation through cross-ministerial coordination, including with the Ministry of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform (PAN-RB), as part of the bureaucracy reform agenda.

"For this reason, we agree, if it is later please from Mr. Yusril, Mr. Coordinating Minister (Law Ham Imipas), I am asked to arrange it. But it is not us who decide. Of course we regulate the concept, of course we also talk to the PAN-RB ministry," he said.

Otto added that the discussion was still internal and would be further formulated before becoming an official policy.

He added that the arrangement was expected to strengthen the governance of the government while maintaining the professionalism of the National Police, and ensuring that cross-institutional coordination runs effectively without changing the established institutional positions.

Previously, the National Police Reform Acceleration Commission ensured that it did not propose changes to the position of the National Police in the state structure. Commission member Mohammad Mahfud MD stated that the National Police remained under the president after a long discussion, with consideration of the history of the 1998 reform and the risk of politicization if placed under the ministry.