A LETTER was circulated to reporters. It said that Commissioner-General Bambang Hendarso Danuri, head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau at Indonesian Police Headquarters, had supported the loading and unloading of illegal wood in Gresik Port, East Java.

The letter, dated August 23, 2008, was about the exploits of a lumber dealer said to be close to some top police officials. Despite having his ships caught three times for transporting illegal wood, he is still free and smuggling timber.

Attached to the letter was a copy of a memo from Bambang, dated April 15, 2008. It was a request for high-ranking police officials in East Java to assist the smooth loading and unloading of wood belonging to that timber dealer. “Whether formally or informally,” it read. “This memo is classified, to be implemented and the results of the assignment to be reported to the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau.”

But there are many discrepancies in the memo. For instance, the rubber stamp is from the head of the Security Guidance Body, but signed by the head of the Criminal Investigation Bureau. No party can verify the authenticity of that letter.

“The standard for correspondence in the police department is not like that,” said Adnan Pandupradja, a member of the National Police Commission. “Just look, the above (sender) and below (signature) are different. That just can’t be,” said Bambang Hendarso two weeks ago.

Neta S. Pane, Chairman of the Indonesia Police Watch Presidium, felt the same way. After his side checked it out with the East Java Police Department, no one could confirm the news. In fact, the timber dealer’s company could not even be found in the city of Gresik.

The issue over that letter has only been a light breeze. Unaffected by it, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono suggested Bambang Hendarso, 56, as a candidate for National Police Chief. He would replace his senior, General Sutanto, 58, who will reach retirement age on September 30. “Commission III is immediately going to conduct his fit-and-proper test,” said House of Representatives Speaker, Agung Laksono, on Wednesday last week.

Previously, it was widely heard that President Yudhoyono was going to extend Sutanto’s term of office, by at least one year, until the 2009 General Election was over. The Law on the National Police gives the President a chance to extend the term until the age of 60.

Some think that the President changed his mind because he was worried the effort would be thwarted in the legislature. Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng denied this supposition. “There is no such thing,” he said. “People are free to have their opinions, but the President never said anything like that.”

A Tempo source revealed that the Police Commission tended to suggest that Sutanto’s term be extended. According to the regulations, the Commission does have the authority to suggest the appointment and removal of the National Police Chief to the President.

When asked for confirmation, the Commission’s Secretary, Ronny Lihawa, refused to comment. According to him, his side does not want to give orders to the President, so their letter only mentioned criteria for a candidate.

Under this criteria, according to Ronny, three of the five names would be dropped from the list of active-duty, 3-star police generals. “This is because we asked that Pak Sutanto’s replacement not be near retirement age also,” said Ronny.

In addition to Bambang, head of the Guidance and Security Body, Commissioner-General Iman Haryatna, 56, and Inspector for General Supervision, Commissioner-General Yusuf Manggabarani, 55, are candidates mentioned to the Palace. Iman and Yusuf both graduated from the Police Academy in 1975, while Bambang graduated a year earlier. The three are set to retire more than two years from now.

It is being said that Yusuf was given Vice President Jusuf Kalla’s blessing. Andi Mallarangeng said that the choice fell to Bambang because he meets all of the conditions: rank, seniority, integrity, and experience.

However, according to Suripto, a member of the Legal Affairs Commission at the House of Representatives (DPR), General Sutanto played a major role in “whispering” Bambang’s name to the President. “All of them are good, but Bambang is preferred due to trust,” said Suripto.

According to Suripto, there is no direct contact between Yudhoyono and Bambang, while Sutanto is very close with Bambang. This closeness began to develop when Bambang became head of the Criminal Investigation Directorate, when Sutanto led the East Java Police Department.

Bambang is called Sutanto’s “golden child” and has been groomed for the position from the outset. According to Neta S. Pane, indications of this could be seen from Bambang Hendarso’s career, which took off after Sutanto became National Police Chief.

Sutanto played down supposition of preferential treatment. “There is a mechanism [to abide by],” he said. “He has been watched since he graduated.” Bambang said he never imagined he would be suggested for the position of National Police Chief. “Alhamdulillah (Praise be God),” he said.

In the third week of this month, Bambang Hendarso will undergo a fit-and-proper test. Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist from University of Indonesia, is asking Bambang Hendarso to continue with four strategic operations undertaken during the Sutanto era.

The operations considered to have been successful in improving the image of the police are: reducing gambling, illegal logging, and the drug trade, as well as community-based policing. “Let’s not have any police officers accepting payments from gambling bosses,” he said.