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Activists question spy chief's plan to recruit agents for election monitoring
Jakarta Globe - July 13, 2015
Sutiyoso, the newly inaugurated head of the agency known as BIN, said it would cooperate with the Home Affairs Ministry to run the recruitment process and to implement the new program that he called a "local intelligence network."
"There are still very few BIN representatives in regions today. That means that one agent must cover two to three districts all by himself. That's impossible," Sutiyoso said on Monday as quoted by Antara.
"That's the reason why I'm planning this program of adding another 1,000 personnel to support our activities in regions. We're also partnering with the Home Affairs Ministry to build our network."
The former Jakarta governor added the partnership was needed because the Home Affairs Ministry had the tools to connect Jakarta with regional administrations. Under the new plans, each district will have at least one spy, Sutiyoso said.
He added extra spies were needed in order to enable early detention of potential conflicts that may emerge during elections of regional heads in December. "We're studying potentials [from conflicts] in regions," Sutiyoso said. "We will launch this plan as soon as possible before the local election.
Defense and security expert Bantarto Bandoro of the Indonesian Defense University welcomed the plan, agreeing that the BIN's presence in the regions would be needed to safeguard the elections.
"This is a positive move from Sutiyoso. However, terms and conditions are required [for the recruitment of new spies]. [This is positive] as long as the new recruits can play their roles in dealing with regional head election conflicts," Bantarto said.
He added, though, that the number of personnel was actually not very important. "What is more important is whether intelligence can gather complete information and develop capacity to handle districts they'll be assigned in," Bantarto said.
He reminded both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry to be highly selective in recruiting spy candidates. "They must have that intelligence instinct in detecting potential conflicts in the field, before and after local elections," Bantarto said. "If not, it'll be only a waste of money. What's the purpose?'
The coordinator of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras), Haris Azhar, however, questioned Sutiyoso's purpose of planning the massive recruitment.
"We have no idea of how exactly the intelligence agency will work in regards to local elections. But we know that the preparation for local elections [in general] are not too promising. So what can the BIN do with all of these?" Haris told the Jakarta Globe.
"The agency and the Home Affairs Ministry must have a clear purpose, although they have said that this is important for regional elections. Aren't there enough intelligence officers already in the regions?
"Are these additions really needed? Have the BIN and the ministry done their duties? Have they detected some flaws and that's why they propose this recruitment?" he added.
Haris also demanded that both the BIN and the Home Affairs Ministry explain how would they fund the program. "The most important thing is the budget. Where will the money come from to cover this program? Is there even money yet?" Haris said.
"We surely don't want the funds to come from the private sector because there will be a vested interest, even corruption, should that really happen," he added.
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