Arif Rachman's Plea, Ex Ferdy Sambo's Subordinate, Hiding Under 'Ready To Be Wrong' Culture Of The National Police

The defendant Arif Rachman Arifin read the memorandum of defense/plea at the South Jakarta District Court/PHOTO: Rizky Adytia-VOI

JAKARTA - Defendant Arif Rachman Arifin said that refusing orders from superiors was not as easy as reading the rules. Moreover, there is a large distance between ranks and a culture of a chain of command that is implemented by the Police.

This statement was conveyed by the former Wakaden B Ropaminal Divpropam Polri when reading a memorandum of defense or plea in a case of alleged obstruction of justice or obstruction of justice in the death of Yosua Hutabarat alias Brigadier J.

Initially, Arif mentioned the tension he felt when facing Ferdy Sambo shortly after the murder incident. This is because the former Head of the Propam Division was emotionally unstable.

"The emotions displayed by Mr. FS are unstable and prone to personality changes and sometimes being rude and making threats create a situation that makes me tense," said Arif in court at the South Jakarta District Court, Friday, February 3.

This situation frightened him. Moreover, Ferdy Sambo is superior and also a senior at the Police agency.

So, Arif could not think straight. In particular, regarding the irregularities behind the death of Brigadier J.

"Such a situation that appears in my every contemplation between logic, conscience, and fear is mixed," he said.

In fact, when ordered to secure CCTV, Arif could not refuse. The reason, the difference in rank is quite far.

"It's really not as easy as reading the sentences in the regulations regarding refusing orders from superiors," said Arif.

"It's not as easy as expressing an opinion. If only it was like this, if only it was like that, why not do this, why not act like that," he continued.

Not only a matter of rank, another reason Arif cannot refuse is that Polri is an institution that has a chain-of-command culture.

Moreover, when a subordinate is deemed wrong by his superior, there isn't much that can be done except to be 'ready to be wrong' and correct it.

"The organizational culture of the Police which is rooted in the chain of command, a tiered relationship called the power relation is not just an expression but a pattern of relationship that is so real that it places firm boundaries between superiors and subordinates," said Arif.

Arif Rachman Arifin is one of the defendants in the obstruction of justice case. He is considered to have been proven involved because he destroyed a laptop containing a copy of the CCTV recordings of the moments of Brigadier J's death.

He was deemed to have violated Article 49 in conjunction with Article 33 of Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning amendments to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions in conjunction with Article 55 paragraph (1) to 1 of the Criminal Code.

Arif was charged by the prosecutor with imprisonment for 1 year and a fine of IDR 10 million.