TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian was non-committal when asked by reporters on his possible candidacy for vice president in the 2019 elections.
Constitutional Court [MK]’s former chief justice Mahfud MD said Tito was a competent candidate to run with either incumbent Joko Widodo or Great Indonesia Movement [Gerindra] chief patron Prabowo Subianto.
Tito only told reporters when asked in Semarang that he and TNI Commander Air Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto were in the Central Java’s capital to brief the military and police on the required security measures ahead of the 2018 regional elections and the 2019 presidential elections.
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Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muhammad Iqbal said Tito was uncomfortable whenever he was linked to politics and that Tito preferred to serve as the state’s security officer.
"Mahfud MD’s statement in Yogya was purely his own opinion, and we don’t know the reasons for it. The chief is still enjoying his police duties and has asked not to be drawn into politics,” Iqbal said on Monday, April 2.
Mahfud MD said Tito Karnavian was an eligible candidate as vice president to either Jokowi or Prabowo. Mahmud said he deemed Tito as a young man with integrity in serving his duties.
FITRIA RAHMAWATI