TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The House has passed Liutenant General (Ret.) Sutiyoso in fit-and-proper test of the Chief of the National Intelligence Agency (BIN). “Commission I decided to accept and support Sutiyoso as the new chief of BIN,” said Commision Chief, Mahfudz Siddiq, on Tuesday June 30.

Out of ten factions, only three factions accepted Sutiyoso without clauses namely Hanura, PKB, and PAN. The other seven factions gave notes on supporting Sutiyoso, citing that Sutiyoso needs to improve communication and coordination with the House through intelligence supervisor. They also warned Sutiyoso to be neutral and reliable source of information for the president.

Sutiyoso responded and promised that he would empower BIN in facing national security issues. However, he said that the government needs to increase BIN operational budget, which he claimed to be fewer than necessary at Rp2.4 trillion per year. “Intelligence operation is an expensive one as it deals with national security,” he said.

During fit and proper test, the House questioned Sutiyoso with issues of terrorism, separatism, economy threat, and interparty conflicts. Democrat politician, Syarief Hasan, added that Sutiyoso needs to deal with issues that are happening in Papua and Ambalat.

INDRI MAULIDAR | PUTRI ADITYOWATI