Can Indonesia's New Police Chief Win Back Public Trust?
After nearly six years marked by events that steadily eroded public confidence in the National Police, Indonesia has a new leader at the top of the force. Newly sworn-in chief Gen. Suyudi Ario Seto has pledged to enforce strict merit-based selection for recruitment, postings and promotions. Many hope this commitment will prove real rather than becoming yet another hollow institutional promise.
President Prabowo Subianto swore in the 53-year-old on October 1, replacing Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo. Within his first ten days, Suyudi replaced 22 provincial police chiefs in a sweeping internal reshuffle. Yet reassigning officers and consolidating posts is only a starting point. The public wants a force that is accountable, transparent and free of systemic abuse.
If pursued without compromise, this could be a turning point. For decades, corruption, collusion and nepotism have shaped who gets recruited and who advances, a problem widely known even inside the force. Desirable postings and quick promotions often depend on payments or family ties to senior officers rather than on competence. The police would do well to adopt the model of the civil service, which over the past two decades has built a transparent, standardized hiring system.
A Force Under Scrutiny
Suyudi takes over an institution many see as an entrenched, self-serving “superbody.” Despite repeated reform promises, the police still lean toward militaristic tactics, impose arbitrary levies and periodically clash with the Indonesian Military (TNI), often over turf disputes tied to illicit revenue.
Several recent incidents have intensified public criticism. They include the 2022 murder case involving former Internal Affairs chief Ferdy Sambo; the October 2022 Kanjuruhan Stadium stampede in Malang, East Java, which killed 135 people; and the August 2025 death of ride-hailing driver Affan Kurniawan, who was run over by a Mobile Brigade (Brimob) tactical vehicle. Authorities also arrested thousands of protesters between August 2025 and August this year. Allegations of police bias during the 2024 presidential election have added to the criticism.
The Tools for Change
On paper, Suyudi has the legal framework he needs, and he may well hold office for seven years. His mandate stems from the May recommendations of the Commission for the Acceleration of Police Reform (KPRP) and the revised Police Law passed in June. Prabowo has endorsed the roadmap, which includes structural overhauls and 32 supporting regulations.
Digital transformation is central to the plan. It calls for a full shift to digital systems, including “One INP Data,” a unified database that would consolidate police records, public services and law enforcement tracking, and an “INP Super App” for public reporting, service access and accountability monitoring.
Indonesia, however, has never lacked reform blueprints, advisory bodies or legislative amendments. Its problem is keeping reforms alive once public attention fades. Suyudi's leadership will therefore be judged by how firmly he enforces them.
What Real Reform Requires
New recruitment rules, anti-extortion orders and tougher promotion standards count for little unless they apply equally to well-connected insiders and ordinary applicants. Violators, regardless of rank, must face swift and public consequences.
Transparency cannot be optional. Publishing recruitment criteria, live testing scores and promotion lists, while welcoming independent oversight from civil society and the press, is the only way to replace institutional suspicion with trust that can be verified.
A merit-based police force is not a favor to the public. It is the basic requirement of a state governed by the rule of law. Suyudi has put his time in office on the line, and the country will be watching to see whether he delivers.