Indonesia’s police chief makes 70 appointments and promotions — Channel NewsAsia
In Indonesia, the new National Police chief, Suyudi Ario Seto, began a major personnel reshuffle two days after taking office. On October 3, 70 senior and mid-ranking officers received promotions or new appointments, while another 18 had their duties reassigned. This was reported by Channel NewsAsia.
Suyudi Ario Seto, who was sworn in on October 1 in the presence of President Prabowo Subianto, said he intended to make the police more attentive to the needs of society. On October 5, the agency unveiled a new slogan, Polisi Bersama Masyarakat — “Police Together with Society.”
Changes in key units
Riau Islands police chief Asep Safrudin was appointed head of the National Criminal Investigation Agency. Former Jakarta police chief Asep Edi Suheri became head of the National Police General Inspectorate, while Riau province police chief Herry Heryawan was appointed to oversee public security and order.
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The rotations affected 19 provincial police chiefs, including leaders in Jakarta, several densely populated provinces on Java, as well as in Sumatra and Sulawesi. Suyudi also replaced the head of the Densus 88 counterterrorism unit and appointed a new cybercrime director.
Expert assessments
Bambang Rukminto, an analyst at the Jakarta-based Institute for Security and Strategic Studies, said the real indicator of change would be the conduct of law enforcement officers in their interactions with citizens. In his view, the personnel reshuffle will matter if it helps change the culture of service and the quality of police work.
According to the human rights organization KontraS, Indonesia recorded 561 incidents of police violence between July 2025 and June 2026. Experts interviewed by the publication stressed the need to strengthen commanders’ accountability, responses to citizens’ complaints, respect for human rights, and oversight of excessive use of force. They believe Suyudi’s first 100 days in office will show whether the personnel decisions lead to deeper changes in the police.
