Friday, May 4, 2012

INAFIS PROJECT PART OF POLICE'S EQUIPMENT MODERNIZATION by Fardah

        Jakarta, May 4, 2012 (ANTARA) - Responding to criticisms, the National Police (Polri) has halted its Indonesia Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (Inafis) project, which was considered to overlap with the electronic identity card (e-KTP ) project.
        Critics said Inafis, or fingerprint identification, could be incorporated with the home affairs ministry`s ongoing e-KTP project or be included in the driving license (SIM) document.

        In view of the fact that the police were charging the public Rp35,000 per Inafis card, critics said the project was aimed at increasing state income, rather than improving public services as claimed by the police.
       Presidium Chairman of the Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) Neta S Pane raised questions on the utility of Inafis cards.
       "In whose interest is the card? It`s not for public interest, but for the police`s interest. Then why it should burden the public," Neta said.
        Polri`s spokesman Inspector General Saud Usman Nasution said the Rp 43.2-billion Inafis card project had to be stopped temporarily while revising a government regulation to make the Inafis cards available free of charge.
      "We need to propose to the government to revise the Government Regulation No. 50/2010 on levying of non-tax state revenue, which is the legal basis of the Inafis project. We will resume the implementation as soon as possible," Saud said on April 26, 2012.

In a discussion titled "Police`s Inafis, is it legal?", Head of the Police Headquarters` Inafis Centre Brig Gen Bekti Suhartono said the police`s decision to halt the project demonstrated that the national police had changed.


Bekti also stated that Inafis would not overlap with the e-KTP programme, as the system was developed to help the police deal with criminal cases.


For example, he added, if people having an Inafis card violate a traffic regulation, they do not have to pay fine to the court. The state can automatically withdraw the amount from their bank account.


A member of the House of Representatives` Commission III, Martin Hutabarat, lauded Polri for putting the Inafis project on hold.


"Congratulations to the Indonesian police. I very much appreciate [the police] for listening to the public and stopping the Inafis process," he said in Jakarta on April 27.


A police team is now making an evaluation of the project`s technicalities, and Inafis cards will be made available free of charge, according to Chairman of Polri`s Public Information Bureau Brigadier General M Taufik.


The Inafis programme had in fact begun in 2009, with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono being one of the first recipients.


Its official launch, however, was carried out by Polri`s Criminal Investigation Division at the South Jakarta municipality police headquarters on April 17, 2012.


"The Inafis card project is part of establishing an identification system for Indonesian people," National Police Detective Chief Commissioner General Sutarman said in the launch ceremony.


In addition to having information about the cardholder`s date and place of birth, address, and fingerprint (which is also provided by e-KTP), Inafis cards will include vehicle plate number, driving licence number, house ownership certificate number, bank account number, and criminal record.


All citizens are encouraged to apply for the card, because if they become victims of crime, police can identify them and process their case quickly.


Inafis will make it easier and quicker to issue permits because the card will contain a chip with data about the holder, including fingerprints, date and place of birth, education level, and religion. The name of the cardholder`s parents, his or her skin colour, and facial characteristics will also be included.


The Polri has currently set up 41 Inafis processing centres in several provinces and is planning to open some more, hoping that by 2014 most Indonesians will have Inafis cards.


In Jakarta, there are several places where residents can apply for the identification card, including one at South Jakarta police office and another at the police`s integrated service office (Samsat) in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta.


"If every Indonesian is recorded, the implementation of general and regional elections will be easier," Sutarman noted.


Before the recent announcement regarding postponement of the Inafis project, five regional police commands had begun the programme and about 2,000 cards had been issued.


Applying for the Inafis card is not compulsory. Every person was charged Rp35,000 for a card, while the first 5,000 applicants were given cards free of cost.


But, in response to criticisms, the police later announced that the Inafis cards will be given to the public free of charge soon after for the revision of the Government Regulation No. 50/2010.


Neta S Pane, however, had said in April that the Inafis project, which was financed by the state budget (APBN), was prone to "foul play", and therefore the State Audit Board (BPK) and the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) should conduct an investigation.


He told the 1st Times in Jakarta on April 22 that the IPW had urged BPK and KPK to immediately conduct an investigation, and if there were indications of corruption, the KPK should not hesitate to take the Inafis project to the Anti-Corruption Court.


In an IPW press release, Pane stated that Inafis cards were not efficient, because the home affairs ministry already had an electronic-based database of residents, or e-KTP.


"The IPW urges the police to stop commercialization and cancel the Inafis projects," Pane said.


Other criticisms came from Tulus Abadi, the chairman of the Indonesian Consumer Institute (YLKI), who said the Inafis project should be scrapped altogether and not just be suspended.


In response to the criticisms, Chairman of Polri`s Public Information Department Senior Commissioner Boy Rafli Amar said recently that the Inafis project was actually an essential part of Polri`s equipment modernization.


"We are obliged to give explanation that [the Inafis project is a part of] police equipment modernization efforts, including those for fingerprint recording, which has been conducted manually using AK 23 cards for the past many years," he said.


Amar explained that the police institution needed to modernise its equipment.


"It should not be misunderstood as a waste. It`s part of the law enforcement process," he said, adding that Inafis cards could be a database that could help at least 13 public services become more efficient.***1***


(f001/INE/o001)

(T.F001/A/KR-BSR/O001) 04-05-2012 15:42:19

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