REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, SEMARANG -- Army Chief of Staff General Budiman said he will take measures against any of his subordinates who is not neutral in the July 9 presidential poll.
"I will not cover up for any subordinate who has done wrong," he said before giving directives at the Diponegoro regional military command here on Monday.
He admitted that not all the 350 thousand military personnel across Indonesia were excellent.
"One or two personnel may have done wrong," he said.
Budiman added that he will always encourage military personnel to work professionally.
Asked about some village supervisory non-commissioned officers (Babinsa) who were allegedly not neutral in the presidential poll, he said the military had investigated the allegation and taken appropriate measures.
Defense Forces Commander General Moeldoko said in Jakarta on June 8 a report about a village supervisory non-commissioned officer (Babinsa) persuading a citizen to elect a certain candidate in the presidential election on July 9 was untrue.
"What has been stated by the reporting person has been proven false. Community members in his neighborhood have even expressed readiness to give a testimony about it. The chief of the Election Supervisory Board (Bawaslu) has phoned me telling he refers the case to the TNI commander to settle it," he said at the Halim Perdanakusuma air force base.
Indonesia will hold a presidential poll on July 9, which will be contested by only two pairs of presidential and vice presidential candidates: Prabowo Subianto-Hatta Rajasa and Joko Widodo (Jokowi)-Jusuf Kalla.
Prabowo Subianto is a retired military general and the chairman of the Great Indonesia Movement (Gerindra) Party, while his running mate, Hatta Rajasa, is a former coordinating minister for economic affairs and the chairman of the National Mandate Party (PAN).
Jokowi is Jakarta's governor and a cadre of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDIP), and his running mate, Jusuf Kalla (JK), is a former vice president and a senior politician of the Golkar Party.
The Jokowi-JK pair is supported by five political parties: the PDIP, the Nation Awakening Party (PKB), the People's Conscience (Hanura) Party, the Justice and Indonesian Unity Party (PKPI), and the National Democrats Party (Nasdem).
The Prabowo-Hatta pair is supported by Gerindra, PAN, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), the United Development Party (PPP), the Moon and Star Party (PBB), and the Golkar Party.
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