Indonesian Military Reserves Bill to Be Put on Hold

Ismira Lutfia

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro announced that the deliberation of a bill governing service in the military reserves will be postponed and that the ministry will instead prioritize the national security bill.

Purnomo said that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had asked the Defense Ministry, Justice and Human Rights Ministry, and Home Affairs Ministry to discuss the national security bill.

“We will discuss the bill with the special committee and we will also invite the military and police. We also understand that the deliberation of the bill at the parliament is very political and that it will be a political decision. The result could be very different from that recommended by experts, depending on political conditions,” said Purnomo.

The national security bill will regulate the reshaped national security system, which will be coordinated by the National Security Council, whose members comprise ministers. “We will postpone the military reserves bill,” Purnomo said.

Brig. Gen. Hartind Asrin, a Defense Ministry spokesman, said the military reserves bill will be included in the 2013 national legislation program.

The ministry said the reserves bill did not involve compulsory military service. It regulated the rights and obligations of every adult citizen to take part in defending the country, and stated that training must be offered to both men and women.

“But the participants should already have a job, with the youngest age ranging from 18 to 25 years old,” Defense Ministry official Pos M. Hutabarat said in his office on Thursday.

Pos said that the upper age limit for people participating in service will depend on the individual’s competence and specialization. He added that in the first round of training, participants will be required to commit themselves for one month and during that period the state will pay the person’s salary.