UNS — The Commissioner General of Police (Komjen Pol.) Listyo Sigit has been approved as the new Chief of National Police Force (Kapolri), succeeding the General of Police Idham Aziz through the Plenary Session of the House of Representatives (DPR) Thursday (21/1/2021).
Before inaugurated as Kapolri by the DPR, Komjen Pol. Sigit is a single candidate proposed by President Joko Widodo (Jokowi). Komjen Pol. Sigit won over the other three-stars generals, including Komjen Pol. Boy Rafli (The Chief of National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT)) and Komjen Pol. Gatot Eddy Pramono (Deputy Chief of National Police Force – Wakapolri).
The smooth nomination of Komjen Pol. Sigit as Kapolri received attention from the Constitutional Law Expert (HTN) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, Dr. Agus Riwanto. He stated that it is normal if Komjen Pol. Sigit is elected as Kapolri. It is inseparable from his achievements and closeness to President Jokowi.
“Komjen Pol. Sigit has adequate achievements, many achievements that affect people’s trust towards the police force both when he served as the Kapolda (Regional Police Chief) Banten and Kabareskrim (Chief of Criminal Investigation Agency). Some of his achievements have caught public attention,” Dr. Agus stated.
When contacted by uns.ac.id, Wednesday (20/1/2021), Dr. Agus stated that Komjen Pol. Sigit capability in handling large cases is unquestionable. For example, the success in revealing the perpetrator behind the attack toward KPK investigator Novel Baswedan and capturing the fugitive convicted for the Bank Bali collection rights (cassie) case, Djoko Tjandra, in Malaysia.
Despite receiving praises for his achievement and integrity, Dr. Agus said great challenges await Komjen Pol. Sigit in his post as Kapolri. One of these challenges is the commitment to improve the internal management of Polri. The corruption inside the institution demands action as Polri is the right hand in corruption eradication. Dr. Agus thinks that this action is vital as Polri needs to provide an example for police institutions to fix the negative image in public eyes, especially in bribery and slow services.
Besides corruption, Dr. Agus added that the new Kapolri should also focus on improving Polri’s human resources quality, especially regarding legal knowledge and adequate technological skills. Both skills are vital amid the increase of digital crimes in the disruptive digital age that demand a better and quicker response from the police force.
Current legal cases
In his interview with uns.ac.id, Dr. Agus reminded the new Kapolri to solve some highlighted cases during General Pol. Idham Azis leadership. For example, the shooting of 6 followers of mass organization in KM 50, legal action on the crowd that violated the health protocol amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and discourse caused by specific mass organizations.
Regarding the shooting case, Dr. Agus suggested that the new Kapolri consider the National Board for Human Rights protection’s findings to prove harmony and cohesiveness among state institutions. The new Kapolri can consider the probability of certain aspects that require accountability to the public, especially regarding the possibility of Human Rights violations.
Dr. Agus suggestion for the new Kapolri regarding the crowd that violated Covid-19 health protocol is to take decisive actions against all of the perpetrators. Komjen Pol. Sigit is demanded to socialize the government’s regulations to the community to avoid miscommunication. This socialization is important because, so far, Dr. Agus observed a disconnection between government policies and people’s daily activities.
“Regional health protocols cannot be generalized because it is highly casuistic in certain regions. But in my opinion, health protocol should be stipulated so that Polri can take just action so that in the Komjen Pol. Sigit era, this action will not appear partial to any party,” he continued.
His last suggestion regarding the discourses caused by certain organizations is that Polri should take strict and just action toward organizations that were dissolved and forbidden by the government for causing public unrest. Dr. Agus said that no organization should bypass Polri’s capacity as law enforcement in society. For him, Komjen Pol. Sigit assertiveness is the key in dealing with the arbitrary behaviors of certain organizations. Humas UNS
Reporter: Yefta Christopherus AS
Editor: Dwi Hastuti
