Looking For National Security System

Purchasing of 100 main battle tank  with the type A26 Germany-made, into one of two issues seized public attention related to defence and security since the end of 2011. Other issues of interest to be listened to and examined the Draft national security legislation ( RUU Kamnas)). The bill became one of four Kamnas regulatory politics in the field of defence and security in the national legislation program in 2012. Three other bills are  a reserve component of the Bill, the Bill’s defense industry and security, and the Bill’s State secrets.

In recent months occurred many cases of violence involving national security actors in some areas, such as Papua, Mesuji, Bima, as well as the deaths of two sisters in the Sijunjung, West Sumatra. A number of events were increasingly expresses the need of a national security-related regulations in the country.

However, the public debate concerning Draft national security legislation tends to be the primary substance only on reducing the substansives of the Bill. National security issues just described as the question of the authority of one institution in this country. Whereas, pursuant to the bill submitted to the Ministry of Defense, main substance which must be known and discussed the public is looking at the creation of a national security system (siskamnas).

National security system should be a major debate in view of the nation-state, in the process of political transition and democratization regime. Currently, Indonesia can be categorized as vulnerable, because of the weakness of the regime's power of the nation-state that is in the process of transitioning democratization. One proof of the insecurity is a distrust of the community of a number of State institutions, in particular the institutes which have the functions and responsibilities in the fields of defence and national security. It is envisaged in various cases of violence that occurred from Aceh to Papua's district but involves the security apparatus,. Therefore, it takes a pretty public space to discuss the concept of the ideal related national security for the country.

National security system is a system of mapping, arrangement, coordination, implementation and monitoring of the various threats the multidimensional, doing by different actors on the basis of the principles of security's sourced from national values. National security system provides an instrument for the State to take measures to safeguard the sovereignty of the State's strategic, territorial integrity, the safety of the nation and the State of any form of threat.

In the bill, there are three main substance in understanding the direction of national security systems. First, the setting up of a national security dimension and the actors of defense and security were involved. The bill’s national security rests on national security terminology which became the central concept in the national security system. Security is seen as a multidimensional concept that features four interconnected dimensions, namely the defence dimension, the dimension of the stability of the country, the dimension of public order, and safety dimension of human. Four of these dimensions should be an integral part of the national security system by not eliminating the possibility of developing national systems developed by other countries that can be used to solve security problems in the lower levels of escalation.

In the exercise of these paradigms is required security actors. In managing national security system, the President is assisted by the National Security Council (NSC). NSC function assists the President in determining problems can be categorized as a national security issue and recommend alternative policies in addressing national security concerns. Based on recommendations of such policy, the President can use institutions that already exist (such as Armed Forces, Police, intelligence agencies, and departments) to address the issue of national security.

Second, the national security system will build mechanisms and work procedures that are specific in each level of danger or a State of emergency escalation. The mechanism and procedure of the security work can be developed to establish a State of emergency that different for each level of conflict escalation. Establishment of a State of civil emergency, orderly, civil, martial law, and war emergency need to be formulated in detail.

In addition, mechanisms and procedures for national security work also needs to be developed having regard to the security functions that would take precedence at each level of escalation. Security functions include early warning functions, action, recovery, and stabilization. Early warning and prevention functions should have been more escalation levels take precedence when conflicts are still in normal levels or crisis. The function of action was forced to rely on the escalation of conflict escalates toward open conflict. Recovery and stabilization functions should be performed when the parties have an agreement to leave the conflicted already violent methods and entry to the stage of the peace.

Thirdly, the involvement of the national security actors. Basically, the deployment and use of national security forces should be based on a political decision based on the statutory rules applicable. Setting about the deployment and use of the national security force is needed to provide certainty as to the form of authorization, the time and the deployment of the forces of the Indonesian situation. Such certainty is needed to ensure that any use of the national security forces carried out within the framework of a democratic political system. The certainty it also needed to ensure that any use of the national security forces received strong political support from the State institutions, in particular the Executive and the legislature.

So far, Police are likely to join hands with the members of Parliament and civil society components to resist the process of formulation of the bill national security. It is due to the perception of Police that the Bill reduces the role of the national police and shaking the internal organization of Police.

Should go hand in hand with the Indonesian National Police and Indonesian Armed Forces will be (as well as BIN) to offer a strong network of institutional work which effectively can solve the problems of national security. While the People’s Representative Council (DPR) will build alliances with civil society components in order to prevent the accumulation of repressive national security instrument in the hands of the State and offer the principles of human rights, civil liberties, transparency and accountability.

Hipolitus Wangge
Program Officer Civil Society Studies at Center for Global Civil Society Studies (Pacivis), University of Indonesia