Beware of Politization, Police Remain Neutral in 2019 Elections
By: Ananda Rasti) *
It is known that AKP Sulman Aziz as the former Pasirwangi police chief Garut, has given a statement before a number of media crews on Monday April 1 2019. In the press conference, he clarified the statement about the non-neutrality of the National Police ahead of the 2019 Election. Azhar, in a joint press conference on the week of March 31, 2019.
Responding to this, the founder of the Legal Aid Institute (LBH) of Padjajaran Garut, Hasanudin, saw the question of the neutrality of the institution in the election, not only in the police institution. But it was also felt by the TNI, government officials and the KPU.
“Doubts about neutrality, of course not only befall the police. But also the TNI, KPU and Bureaucracy. This doubt does not only occur in this election, before that too, “explained Hasanudin.
Shortly, the police who had been transferred to the Ditlantas of the West Java Regional Police revised his statement with Haris Azhar.
“In this activity, I made a mistake. I say that the police are not neutral. That I convey because I was emotional. I was transferred from my previous position. From the police chief to the West Java Regional Police Ditlantas personnel, “he said accompanied by the West Java Regional Police Head of Public Relations Commissioner Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko at the West Java Regional Police Headquarters.
Hasanudin hoped that the events of Sulman Azis would not be too politicized. Moreover, the concerned person has clarified and revoked his statement about the neutrality of the National Police. Actually, according to Hasanudin, all parties knew exactly the neutrality of the National Police in the general election. Police, neutral because they do not have voting rights in elections.
As for all the activities of the National Police in the implementation of the General Election, according to Hasanudin, this was done solely related to the task of securing the implementation of the General Elections attached to the National Police. This is because elections do not only have to be honest and fair. But security is also important. Hasanudin saw that the efforts to politicize the case of Sulman Aziz could be seen as an effort to use the police institution politically in other forms.
“Efforts to politicize this, aside from being unethical, also have an adverse effect,” he said.
Hasanudin invited all parties to submit the problems made by Sulman Aziz so that they were handed over to the police to examine the elements of the violations that occurred. According to him, the performance of the police is also supervised by Kompolnas and Bawaslu to be able to solve this problem clearly.
“If Sulman then corrects what he says, this becomes a new fact of the actual event, because he is an officer who is physically and mentally healthy,” he said.
In the event, of course, the public must filter and be careful of all information circulating, not to assume assumptions that only add to the murky atmosphere. This also received a response from the Presidential Chief of Staff Moeldoko who said that in a situation like this, anyone can say anything and have a goal, especially in the context of the election. It is very clear that the National Police Chief has established and expressed the position of the Neutral Police, there is no systematic order to require any support. Moeldoko said that the affirmation was related to the recognition of the former Pasirwangi police chief AKP Sulman Aziz regarding the order of Garut police chief AKBP Budi Satria Wiguna to win Jokowi – Ma’ruf Amin.
“The public must be observant and careful, do not be easy to believe, not because our elections can be divided between national unity and unity, surely the police can handle this on their own,” Moeldoko said.
On a separate occasion, Garut Police Chief Budi explained that the mutations experienced by Sulman Aziz were natural. Sulman himself has been serving the Pasirwangi police chief for two years.
“If the problem is removed, it is a natural thing that is a natural mutation, he has been a police chief for almost two years and the mutation is not a mutation,” concluded Budi.
In addition, Budi admitted that routinely collecting police chiefs in the jurisdiction of the Garut police station. But he denied related directing the police chiefs to win the candidate pair number 01 Jokowi – Ma’ruf Amin in the 2019 Presidential Election. Whatever happens, Polri is a neutral institution in the continuation of the election. Surely the public should not easily assume the irregularity of the National Police before obtaining strong evidence.
) * The author is an observer of social and political problems