Indonesians Aged 18 and Over To Be Conscripted into Military

Indonesian troops.

From Beritasatu:

Indonesian Citizens Reaching Age 18 Will Be Conscripted

Indonesian male citizens aged 18 years and above will be affected if the draft of the Reserve Component Bill, which is already in the National Legislation Program (prolegnas) 2012, is passed.

Defense Ministry spokesman, Brigadier General Hartind Asrin said the bill will have been finished being discussed within the next year.

In the country’s defense, he added that the Indonesian National Army is the main component while civilians aged 18 years and over are the reserve component.

PT. PINDAD's Panser 'Anoa' during Indonesian Defense and Aerospace Expo 2008

PT. PINDAD’s Panser ‘Anoa’ during Indonesian Defense and Aerospace Expo 2008

‘All countries have a reserve component. The cost is low because they are trained only for a month and while on training the salaries for the jobs that they are leaving will be paid by the state. This is not militarism but it is the training for nationalism,‘ Hartind said when contacted by Beritasatu.com today.

‘The purpose [of the reserve component] is to be the standby force that can be summoned at any time,’ he added.

Hartind also said that Malaysia and Singapore are examples of countries that have reserve components and some states also require female citizens 18 years old or over to enter the reserve component.

Training for this reserve component will be arranged in each military area command (kodam), which will also record and organize this reserve component, in Indonesia.

Indonesian Navy's Armada

Indonesian Navy’s Armada

He added that the draft for the Reserve Component Bill, which is the government’s initiative, is a mandate of the Constitution of 1945 Article 30, which states that every citizen has the right and the obligation to participate in the defense of the country and the defense requirements are defined by the law.

Aside from the draft Reserve Component Bill, Hartind said that another bill which will go into prolegnas in 2013 is the draft State Defense Bill. The priority for this year is to complete the draft Defense Industry Bill.

‘After the recess, the discussion for the draft Defense Industry Bill will be accelerated. The essence of this draft bill is to preserve and revive the domestic defense industry and [define] the rules for the production of defense equipment in accordance with the standards set by the military as the user,’ he said.

Indonesian Air Force's Sukhoi Su-30 Fighter

Indonesian Air Force’s Sukhoi Su-30 Fighter

Comments from Kaskus:

ribaxx:

It’s because the Indonesian public knows that the salary for the Indonesian military and the police is low, so obviously no one wants to get into these two agencies any longer.

Harmony.Melody:

Indonesia unite. Please don’t get provoked into violent religious riots okay.

d.kyupz:

But do they have the money, boss?
This has been in discussion since years ago.
Since a long time ago there’s been one problem: Is the state going to release the funding or not? If they release it, then will the tap leak [will there be rampant corruption]? If so, eventually we will be trained with only sharp bamboo.
hahahaha

flakeheartnet:

Let’s go, better than going to the gym all the time without any results and still having to pay. It’s free if it’s conscription, right?

arviarvi:

I want to go too.
My body is itching already.

ojongonole:

Yesterday, the Ministry of Defense said it wasn’t conscription. Now it’s even called conscription. What’s up with that…

frodobite:

So if there is conscription, then there won’t be any turmoil about Tribe, Religion, Race, and Group (SARA).
Hopefully this country will move forward in terms of its way of thinking and nationalism.
Long live the Five Precepts (Pancasila)

Dewayt:

Looks like this is only bullshit, boss

L.Banditz:

Wow … will those over 30 years old be affected too?
What about their jobs?

batu.merah:

[The government] told us to have a sense of nationalism.
But the cost of living gets more expensive and they couldn’t care less.

Just like other Kaskusers have said, ‘nationalism with an empty stomach’

Benpayu:

Wow we will have conscription just like South Korea.
I agree with this. Not bad for gaining experience

tauvix:

I wanted to become a soldier but got rejected every time.

Farid2000:

Hopefully this won’t be a source of corruption for people who do not want to be conscripted… And hopefully there will be no casualties if this really comes true…

setiawan26:

I support this program…
This can reduce lebay youth (allay) and ababil population whose behavior lately is increasingly unclear…

aabayu:

By all means if it is for the unemployed people since job vacancy in Indonesia is minimal..

coedition:

It’s good … as long as there’s no entrance fee…
Clear salary … clear career path… plus benefits…

homofobia:

In my opinion, [the government’d] better fix the regular personnel first. Give them proper weapon, ammunition, and other equipments
During the training for the regulars, there’s still a limit on the number of bullets they can fire, let alone for the conscripts. In Indonesia, there are more personnel than weapons. Even those in the borders have to share 1 weapon with others

What do you think about this conscription? Do you know anyone in this age group? Will they be excited or reluctant to go?

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