Army Chief Of Staff Has Determined Security Preparations Ahead Of The 2024 Simultaneous Pilkada

Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak when interviewed in Padang, Wednesday (07/08/2024). BETWEEN/Muhammad Zulfikar.

PADANG Army Chief of Staff (KSAD) General TNI Maruli Simanjuntak said the agency he leads continues to strengthen a number of matters related to preparations for the implementation of the five-year regional head elections (Pilkada) simultaneously in 2024.

"There is a little that is our lesson so that in the future it will be better, and we will fix this," said Army Chief of Staff General Maruli Simanjuntak as quoted by ANTARA, Wednesday, August 7.

The response was conveyed by the Army Chief of Staff Maruli in response to the Election Insecurity Index (IKP) compiled by Bawaslu which designated West Sumatra (West Sumatra) as the most vulnerable area on the island of Sumatra.

Regarding the IKP, which was previously mentioned by the Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) some time ago, KSAD Maruli said the IKP was still limited to estimates by Bawaslu.

"That's just a prediction of possible threats (IKP), so it's not certain," said the Commander of the Army Strategic Reserve Command (Pangkostrad) for the 2022-2023 period.

The Army Chief of Staff also asked all parties not to too much IKP to designate West Sumatra Province as the most vulnerable area on the island of Sumatra. The Army Chief of Staff believes that this estimate does not reach a point of chaos that can have a major impact.

"That doesn't need to be overestimated, maybe the level of threat is a bit of chaos and doesn't get big," he said.

In general, the former Commander of the Presidential Security Forces (Danpaspampres) emphasized that the TNI, especially the army dimension, is ready to oversee and maintain the smooth running of democratic parties in the country.

The TNI, he continued, is ready to assist the Indonesian National Police (Polri) in the success of the 2024 simultaneous regional elections, including in the Minang area.