Prabowo Commits to Rational Policy in Indonesian Police Reform

3 hours ago 2

March 23, 2026 | 07:21 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto stated that the government will study the recommendations of the Commission for the Acceleration of Reform of the Indonesian National Police (Polri) regarding efforts to improve the police institution. He assured that they would give thorough consideration to the various aspects to determine which actions could be taken immediately and which would need to be postponed.

Prabowo's statement is in response to the public's skepticism regarding the government's commitment to implementing the recommendations of the Police Reform Commission to improve the police institution. The Head of State explained this during a round-table discussion with several journalists and experts in Hambalang, Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

According to Prabowo, the state must have competent, clean, and credible law enforcement institutions. "Later, we will make rational decisions. The country needs professional law enforcement agencies, which are clean, not corrupt, and full of integrity; that is essential," he said, as quoted from a video interview shared by the Presidential Secretariat on Sunday, March 22, 2026.

Prabowo stated that improving the police institution does not always have to go through a reform team. However, he acknowledged that the Commission for the Acceleration of Polri Reform is a crucial instrument. "The desire to improve all institutions, including the police, does not always have to come from a reform committee, but the reform committee is a very important supporting tool," said Prabowo.

According to the president, since he was elected by the people and inaugurated as head of state, he has sworn to improve the nation's condition. One way to transform the country is to improve law enforcement tools. "So, if I am serious about my oath, yes, I have to improve these bad conditions, including the conditions within our institutions," he said.

He also believes the negative image of law enforcement is the result of certain authorities' actions. Prabowo said the public must also be fair in assessing the performance of state institutions-this is not limited only to the police. "So I say this, we also have to be fair, it always takes one bad apple to spoil the whole barrel. Maybe some individuals, but they have power, and they can do as they please. But hundreds of thousands of other police officers bear the brunt of the bad name," he said.

Therefore, Prabowo allows each institution to make internal corrections before the government takes further action. He cited the mechanism of auditing. In a leadership role, he said, the audit process is sometimes the best way forward.

"Similarly with audits, yes. If the audit is not satisfactory, they come and tell the leaders, 'Hey, you are not in good shape. Can you improve yourself? If you can improve, I will give you a chance, three months to improve.' If it's still not enough, another three months," he said.

The Commission for the Acceleration of Polri Reform has drawn up many recommendations in improving the police institution. However, the official report to President Prabowo Subianto will emphasize four main proposals.

The commission also targets improving internal police regulations to be completed by 2029. The Chairperson of the Commission for the Acceleration of Polri Reform, Jimly Asshiddiqie, stated that the reform of Polri cannot proceed quickly because it involves many internal regulations. "There are eight Perpols (Police Regulations) and twenty-two Perkaps (Chief of Police Regulations) that need to be improved," said Jimly when met in the Kuningan area, South Jakarta, on Saturday, February 7, 2026.

In addition, the commission also prepares internal reform agendas that are technical and medium-term in nature. Jimly says that the commission has prepared a reform roadmap to ensure the program runs consistently until the end of the Prabowo administration. This roadmap enables the current and future chiefs of the Indonesian National Police to continue the reform agenda without altering the direction of policy.

Intan Setiawanty contributed to this article

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