President Leaves For Surabaya For Working Visit

Jakarta, July 1 (Antara) - In the company of First Lady Ani Yudhoyono, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his entourage left for Surabaya on Monday for a two-day working visit to East Java until Tuesday. The head of state left Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 12 noon and was scheduled to arrive at Djuanda airport in Surabaya at 1 pm. Before leaving for Surabaya, the president acted as the inspector of ceremony to observe the 67th Bhayhangkara Day, or the anniversary of the National Police Force (Polri). In his address, President Yudhoyono asked Polri to step up cooperation with other law enforcers in dealing with legal problems in the country. "The National Police Force must step up cooperation with other law enforcers instead of competing with them," the president said. He also called on all ranks of the Police to uphold the code of ethics in carrying out their tasks. "Be it the ethics of personality, institutional, state, and public relations, they must be based on Pancasila and the Tri Brata and Catur Prasetya principles. President Yudhoyono then asked the Police to complete the internal bureaucratic reforms and prevent the occurrence of irregularities and violations of law. He expressed hope that the Police would be neutral in the upcoming 2014 general elections. "I hope Polri will prevent the violation of law from happening, ensure the security during election campaigns and the elections, and remain neutral," he noted. In his speech, Yudhoyono reminded the entire nation`s police force to improve their overall performance and capabilities in order to ensure security and order during the election campaigns. He said the police should act as patron, community protector, and preserver of security and public order. "Take the lesson from 2004 and 2009 elections and be ready to act professionally and proportionally in the upcoming 2014 general elections," the president said.