JAKARTA - The Minister of Defense (Menhan) Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin said the reason for the formation of 750 new battalions until 2029, among others, to reduce the crime rate and strengthen the social environment.
Sjafrie, during a working meeting with Commission I of the DPR, explained that the presence of battalions, especially territorial builders, could help maintain public security and order.
"Before there was a territorial battalion for development, there were no troops in the district, it was empty. What happened? Begal, criminals, it was huge, but after we were there building a base, so many percent of criminals disappeared," he said, quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, May 19.
He said that one of the tasks of the territorial battalion of development is to carry out patrols. According to him, the patrol can build an environmental security system so that criminal cases can be prevented.
In addition, Sjafrie explained that the formation of the battalion was also to strengthen the social environment. In this context, soldiers from various religious backgrounds can work together with the community to keep social life harmonious.
"So, the community feels a little warm with the presence of the territorial battalion," he said.
On the other hand, the Minister of Defense said that the presence of soldiers in the area could also support the economic wheel of the community.
"For example, the smallest salary for a soldier is Rp6 million per person. If he is 1,000 people in one battalion and he spends Rp1 million every month, it means he is Rp1 billion in the village and in the sub-district where they are. I see every time I come to battalions, there are a lot of cafe buildings, stalls that appear. This means that SMEs (small and medium enterprises) are increasing," said Sjafrie.
The impact of the battalion's presence in the area is also felt in terms of access to health. The Ministry of Defense and the TNI have adopted a policy of one soldier donating blood three times a year to help people who are unable to.
"We are creating our own blood bank to accommodate those who want to take, need blood from the people who are below and are not charged. Blood from soldiers is free for the needs of the two-fa people," said Sjafrie.
Previously, the Head of the Army Information Service, Brigadier General TNI Donny Pramono, explained that the plan to build 750 battalions consisted of 593 territorial development battalions and 157 combat assistance units and administrative assistance.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
