Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs (Menko Polhukam) Mahfud MD say TNI not the first government institution to abolish the lineage requirement of former members PKI unable to enlist in the military.
Mahfud said that the provision had actually been removed as a condition for registering as a legislative candidate, regional head, to become a civil servant (PNS) several years ago.
“Requirements, for example, to become legislative candidates, regional heads and all of them have not used those conditions. PNS have also not used them, it has been a long time. So the TNI is not the first (allowing PKI descendants to participate in the selection),” said Mahfud at the UGM Mosque, Sleman, Sunday (3/4).
Mahfud said that the Constitutional Court (MK) was the first to pave the way for families and former members of the PKI and organizations involved in the G30S to enter politics in Indonesia.
Mahfud’s statement refers to the Constitutional Court’s decision in 2004 which canceled the provisions of Article 60 letter g of Law Number 12 of 2003 concerning Elections. Its contents include the requirements for candidates for members of DPR, DPD, Provincial DPRD, and Regency/Municipal DPRD who are not former members of the banned Indonesian Communist Party organization, including mass organizations, or are not people who are directly or indirectly involved in the G30S PKI or other prohibited organizations.
“The Constitutional Court used to be very brave to make a decision for the political department, that’s what the Constitutional Court used to start,” he said.
Previously, the Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces, General Andika Perkasa, disputed the prohibition of PKI descendants from becoming members of the TNI. Andika feels that the rules are unfair.
The four-star general also questioned the reasons for using MPRS Decree Number XXV/MPRS/1966 as the legal basis for the prohibition. Andika explained that there was no prohibition against PKI descendants from joining the TNI in the regulation.
Mahfud said that in MPRS Decree Number XXV/MPRS/1966, there was no prohibition against PKI descendants from joining the TNI.
“That is the policy of the commander-in-chief and in my opinion it is normative, there is no word of descent. So that later on during the selection of ideology, it can be said to each candidate. That’s right. Not because of their descent but because of their ideology and acceptance of the basic ideology of the state. I think it’s just normative, since In the past, there was no prohibition on heredity,” he said.
Mahfud also believes that the TNI has a method to sort out the selection participants in the recruitment process. According to him, adherents of communist ideology are likely to be caught during the selection process.
“Let’s choose the person, even though he is not a descendant of the PKI but the ideology of the PKI should not be accepted in the selection, right? Because we already consider the PKI a forbidden party, communism should not be the basis of our ideology,” he said.
(kum / fra)
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