Senior political observer Boni Hargens believes that the involvement of Indonesian National Police personnel in civil service positions is a natural and legitimate necessity.
"If police personnel are indeed more competent for certain positions in the civilian sphere, there's no need to be overly prejudiced against the National Police," Boni said in a statement.
Moreover, he said, the Indonesian National Police, as part of civil society, also has a responsibility to strengthen civil democracy.
For this reason, he invited the public to eliminate negative prejudices against the Indonesian National Police who are allowed to occupy civil positions within government agencies and related ministries.
These provisions specifically target various positions that are deemed to require human resources from the police institution, both in terms of technical and institutional competency.
Boni emphasized his confidence in the National Police's commitment to improving the performance and culture of the police institution, especially in carrying out its various functional duties as guardians of public order and security.
He specifically referred to the statement by National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, who emphasized that the provisions for Polri involvement in civil service positions are not coercive, but are entirely based on real needs and concrete requests from the relevant institutions or ministries.
"The National Police Chief's argument demonstrates the National Police's commitment to maintaining and respecting democratic culture within the framework of Indonesia's rule of law," he said.
He believes there are three requirements that need to be considered when implementing the provisions regarding the Indonesian National Police holding civilian positions. First, technical competence.
He believes that competency-based placement is reasonable and legitimate if Polri personnel have the relevant skills for certain positions in the civilian environment.
Second, it must be non-coercive. He said that request-based mechanisms, rather than forced placement, are considered adequate safeguards against the dominance of the police institution over the civilian bureaucracy.
The third condition, he continued, is that the implementation of these provisions must be carried out in the context of civil responsibility.
"The Indonesian National Police, as an integral part of civil society, is seen as having a constitutional responsibility to contribute to strengthening democracy, not merely to be a law enforcement institution," Boni said.
