♚ Maurina · @xLmaoBieber
23rd Feb 2013 from Twitlonger
Jakarta Governor Joko Widodo has appointed Sylviana Murni, the former Central Jakarta mayor, as the first female head of the city’s public order agency, as part of his efforts to tone down the agency’s hard-line image.
Joko said on Friday that Sylviana was appointed to replace Effendi Anas, the previous head of the agency known as Satpol PP, who retired on Monday.
“I want our Satpol PP chief to be someone who can help build a new public perception about the agency and develop it along the new paradigm of being firm, yet even-handed,” he said.
Fadjar Panjaitan, the city secretary who oversaw Sylviana’s appointment on Friday, said that while she would officially serve as the acting Satpol PP head, the appointment was open-ended, meaning she could eventually get the job permanently depending on her performance.
Joko previously appointed another woman, Sri Kadarwati, as the Satpol PP chief of the Central Java city of Solo when he was mayor there, where she played a key role in his public order campaigns, including regulating food hawkers and managing traffic.
Joko’s latest move follows on his decision last November to bar Jakarta Satpol PP from carrying weapons, flouting a 2010 Home Affairs Ministry regulation allowing the officers to carry gas-fed handguns, electric-shock sticks and other weapons short of firearms.
“If anybody breaks the law or refuses to listen, do your job, but never harm them physically. Don’t start a quarrel, just do your job,” Joko said at the time.
“Acting proportionally means stop using sticks, knives and other weapons. Satpol PP was established for peace and order, not for the opposite purpose.”
Satpol PP, while nominally a civilian security force, has become notorious for its violent behavior against traders in traditional markets, sidewalk vendors, the destitute, beggars and residents from the lower walks of life, including slum dwellers.
Even before the ministerial decree was issued, the officers had a reputation for their violent approach to enforcing public order. Critics contended that the decree to arm them gave them greater legitimacy to act even more brutally.
“Your duty is to create peace, tranquility and public order for the sake of all the residents of Jakarta,” Joko said.
“No one should use violent means or methods to physically harm any resident. You must use dialogue and persuasion while being firm in your action. But to be firm does not mean to be violent.”
Effendi said last year that Joko’s instructions would become the guidelines for his officers to base their actions on. He added that he had been trying to get his personnel to act more humanely and the governor’s instructions would now strengthen his policy.
But social observers say Joko’s bold plans may be limited by the low education levels of many Satpol PP officers, which influences the way they behave.
The governor may need to improve their education, said Agus Pambagio, a University of Indonesia academic.
“The most important thing is eradicating illegal fees taken by Jakarta officials,” he said in November.
“The fact that so many illegal street vendors are allowed to operate in the city is proof that officials take bribes.”