JAKARTA - The presence of the police was never considered effective in the Dutch East Indies era. Instead of being professional, the police actually like to show their ulcers. They defend who pays and corrupt. Criticism also appears everywhere.
Moreover, the police discriminated the treatment between European prisoners and Bumiputra. The bumiputras were treated like extraordinary criminals. They were handcuffed and forced to walk to the court. The act of handcuffing then became the standard procedure for Dutch East Indies police who were opposed by the bumiputras.
The ability of the Dutch East Indies government in maintaining limited order. They are only able to present security guards, police in big cities. From Batavia (now: Jakarta) to Surabaya.
Many police officers were recruited from the bumiputras. Europeans are rarely interested in being police because the salaries offered are too small. This limit makes the police only presented limited to European settlements (mainly the Dutch).
The rest, outside European settlements, have the power to entrust village officials who are voluntary. This fact makes city security matters never resolved. Alias, eradicating crime is never effective.
Social jealousy also surrounds the natives. This is because the police tend to work for those who pay and officials of the Dutch East Indies. This tendency made the natives refuse to deal with the police.
They often choose to look for other alternatives rather than being forced to go to the police. A series of critical Bumiputras saw this condition as inhumane treatment. They hope that the Dutch East Indies police will immediately improve and work for all groups.
Even so, the salaries of members of the European police are not large. However, according to the press, they realized that they were seeking compensation for other illegal receipts, such as taking the loot that was confiscated, the strike, and various other types of corruption.
The colonial government did tend to look for police functionalists who fulfill their obligations and can socialize well, but hit by the financial situation at that time. The low salary proved to attract incompetent enthusiasts, "explained Margreet van Till in the book Batavia Malam: Police, Bandits, and Firearms (2018).
The incompetentness of the Dutch East Indies police was also seen from their handling of prisoners. In fact, the police often distinguish between European prisoners and bumiputra prisoners. European prisoners are privileged by the police.
On the way to court, for example. European prisoners were transported from prison to court by train without handcuffs. Things are different from Bumiputra prisoners. They get inhumane treatment. They are often humiliated. Moreover, the matter of bringing prisoners from prison to court.
The bumiputra prisoners were handcuffed and forced to walk from prison escorted by the Bumiputra police. The treatment was perpetuated because the bumiputras were considered cunning and often tried to escape. Narasi using hand handcuffs continued to be perpetuated to the bumiputra prisoners whatever the crime was. All beaten evenly had to be handcuffed.
The police believe that the hand was used by the police as a standard procedure for Bumiputra prisoners. No. It can't be. Moreover, the owner of the power considers the move effective. Handbuffling also becomes like a tradition. In which, there are Bumiputra prisoners, they must be handcuffed when going to the court.
The treatment received protests in the era of the national movement. The standard handcuffs are considered inhumane and tend to be racist because European prisoners are not treated the same. The protest was once perpetuated by a press figure, Mas Marco Kartodikromo.
Handcuffs are a standard procedure for indigenous prisoners to prevent them from trying to escape to the busy streets of Batavia. They have never heard a prisoner complain before. Even so, moved by Mas Marco's protests, Dutch official Uhlenbeck instructed public prosecutor Du totalex not to continue this custom, but only for certain cases.
"Pribumi who are accused of violating the press law and those who must be tried on European feet in the future must be transported by train. Du harus patuh, but he suggested that thieves and ordinary robbers should remain handcuffed. Exceptions can be made for leading indigenous and civilized and more educated natives, and all women, "said Kees Van Dijk in the bookHindia Netherlands and World War I 1914 1918(2013).
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