Farouk Arnaz & Muninggar Sri Saraswati

Indonesia's National Police Ordered to Be More Open

National Police Chief Gen. Bambang Hendarso Danuri on Monday ordered senior officers to be more open to the public and the press, a move he said he hoped would improve the police’s tattered image.

“Please don’t just say no comment when you’re questioned by the people, including journalists. We need to serve the public, as directed by the Law on Public Information Transparency,” he said at a ceremony inaugurating high-ranking officers, including the new National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Edward Aritonang.

The Law on Public Information Transparency comes into effect in April.

“The purpose is to gain the public’s trust by telling them what they need to know,” Danuri said. “I hope the police’s public image will improve.”

Aritonang said the police would be more open about sharing information. “We are ready to be more transparent, including by providing answers to what the public or journalists want to know instead of saying no comment.”

As part of this effort, subdistrict-level police stations are scheduled to get their own spokespeople.

The National Police’s image took a beating last year following allegations that its chief detective was involved in efforts to undermine the powerful Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK).

Neta S Pane, the coordinator of Indonesia Police Watch, welcomed the effort to be more transparent, which he said was necessary to improve professionalism. He said, however, that he had doubts about how the new policy would be implemented.

“The National Police spokesman division has, so far, only been open to the public in big cases. We need to see whether they can be truly transparent or if they become transparent only to defend themselves in public,” he said.

Being transparent, Neta said, meant the police would be ready to acknowledge when they made mistakes.

“Now the question is, will they be able to admit their mistakes?” he said.

Neta pointed to the police’s handling of the case of Anggodo Widjojo, the brother of fugitive graft suspect Anggoro Widjojo, who in recorded telephone conversations made public last year was heard apparently dictating to top law enforcers.

At the same event on Monday, Comr. Gen. Yusuf Manggarabarani was officially inaugurated as the new National Police deputy chief, replacing Comr. Gen. Makbul Padmanegara, who reached mandatory retirement age.

Yusuf’s previous position was as head of the police’s General Oversight Inspectorate.

Insp. Gen. Nanan Soekarna, who Aritonang replaced as National Police spokesman, is the new head of the inspectorate.

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