KPK-POLICE SINETRON

by N Mark Castro

The Facts

Police General Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan was appointed as a candidate for the National Police Chief by President Jokowi, a decision many feel to be influenced by Megawati, chief patron of the president’s political party, PDI-P. Budi is known to be close to Megawati, having served as her security aide during her presidency from 2001 to 2004.

According to this report:

The suspicion was first flagged by the government’s anti-money-laundering watchdog, the Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center, or PPATK, in 2010. The KPK also reportedly issued a red flag against Budi when President Joko Widodo mulled recruiting him as a member of his cabinet prior to his announcement of the cabinet lineup in late October last year.

It was only early this month, however, that the KPK decided to name Budi a suspect, alarmed by the president’s nomination of him as the sole candidate for National Police chief.

And Justice For All

In light of the recent injustice that happened yet again to young children as reported by The Jakarta Globe, I am reprinting an article that I’d published before denouncing Indonesia’s inefficient police and legal system.

Hukom
By N. Mark Castro

That a child should spend time in jail for an offense so minor a strong reprimand could have done the job is simply beyond plain logic. At the very least, a discussion between complainants, witnesses, community elders, parents, initiated by the police could have resolved the issue swiftly, without exposing the innocence of the child to the hardened criminals.