Budi Gunawan to Take Top Spook Post: Lawmaker
Jakarta. The House of Representatives Commission III chairman Bambang Soesatyo told reporters on Tuesday (21/06) he had heard rumors that National Police deputy chief Comr. Gen. Budi Gunawan may soon be appointed as the country’s next top spook, replacing Sutiyoso.
Budi Gunawan — a former aide to the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri — was rumored to be one of the candidates to take over as National Police chief before President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo finally settled on Comr. Gen. Tito Karnavian, the head of the National Counterterrorism Agency, to be the country's top cop.
“My source said that Budi Gunawan may be the new National Intelligence Agency (BIN) chief. But it will be up to the president to decide,” Bambang said at the parliament house in Jakarta.
Budi was named a suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) in a bribery and money laundering case only days after President Jokowi nominated him to be the National Police chief in January 2015.
A month later, a pretrial ruling dropped Budi's status as a suspect, but his nomination was eventually scrapped by Jokowi amid public outcry.
Bambang also said two names are being considered for the National Police deputy chief post. They are Insp. Gen. Lutfi Lubihanto, currently the deputy chief of the police's intelligence and security unit, and the head of the police's Education Institute Comr. Gen. Syafruddin.
“The President will decide on the right names,” the Golkar Party politician said.
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