Indonesian Navy Prepares Units If There Is A Request For Security Assistance For The 2024 Election

KSAL Admiral TNI Muhammad Ali (three right) walked to the meeting room of the Indonesian Navy's Renaku II and the unit commander's apple in the Marine Knight Hartono, Cilandak, Jakarta, Tuesday (21/11/2023). (ANTARA/Genta Tenri Mawangi)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Navy has prepared a unit to assist the security of the 2024 Simultaneous Elections in various regions of Indonesia depending on requests from the Police.

The Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KSAL) Admiral Muhammad Ali explained that the involvement of TNI soldiers in securing the election was an aid, so that the soldiers were deployed if there was a request for assistance from the Police.

"We have prepared several units, especially in DKI (Jakarta) which are more comprehensive, because here is the democratic party in DKI; but we are all helping the Police in securing elections," Ali said as quoted by ANTARA, Tuesday, November 21.

He said the deployment of troops to help secure elections in principle has not changed much and is more or less the same as the previous elections, including security for areas that are considered vulnerable and disadvantaged, frontier, and outermost (3T) areas.

"Nothing special, almost the same as what has been going on," he added.

However, until now, Ali said the Indonesian Navy had not received a request for assistance from security forces from the National Police. However, the Indonesian Navy is ready to fulfill whatever number of soldiers the Police have requested.

"(The number of troops) depends on the police's request. We are ready no matter what they are asked for," said Ali.

In the past week, a number of units in the Indonesian Navy held a simulation of election security.

On Monday (20/11), the ranks of the Indonesian Navy Main Base (Lantamal) III Jakarta held a simulation of securing the 2024 General Election together with the North Jakarta Metro Police and the Tanjung Priok Port Police at the Lantamal III Command Headquarters, Jakarta.

In the simulation, the coordination flow was also practiced, namely a request for security assistance from the police to Kodam Jaya as the Commander of the Operations Command (Pangkoops) for the Presidential Election (Pilpres).

Then, Kodam Jaya forwarded the request to Koarmada I which then assigned Lantamal III, considering the scene when the simulation took place in the Lantamal III area.

Deputy Commander of Lantamal III Jakarta Marine Colonel (P) Whisnu Kusardianto as Deputy Training Commander, representing Danlantamal III, explained the purpose of the simulation exercise to ensure the preparedness of Indonesian Navy soldiers in helping the National Police maintain order and security during elections, including during voting and vote counting.