ПОЛИЦЕЙСКАЯ ЗВЕЗДА ИНДОНЕЗИИ BINTANG BHAYANGKARA

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The award system of Indonesia has formed since the War of Independence against the Netherlands. The first Order — Bintang Gerilya, or the Guerilla Star — was instituted in 1949. Several years later, the Indonesian Army managed to suppress separatist and autonomist movements in various parts of Indonesia. The Indonesian military obtained control over nationalized businesses of the Dutch in the later fifties. It gave the Army a leading role in social and political spheres of the Indonesian state. In 1958, the Indonesian Government instituted two military Orders — Bintang Sakti, or the Sacred Star, and Bintang Dharma, or the Military Distinguished Service Star. In 1959, the Indonesian Government instituted the highest Orders of the State — Bintang Republik Indonesia, or the Star of the Republic of Indonesia, and Bintang Mahaputera, or the Star of Great Son of Nation. The National Police of Indonesia was formed in 1945 or, formally, in 1946. It obtained its own professional Order — Bintang Bhayangkara, or the National Police Meritorious Service Star — in 1961. A year later, the National Police turned a branch of the National Armed Forces of Indonesia. The National Police became separated from the National Armed Forces in 1999, during the democratization since the fall of Suharto’s ‘New Order’ in 1998. The paper focuses on the statute of Bintang Bhayangkara and its functioning among current Indonesian elites. The President and Vice-President of Indonesia have this Order ex officio. Bintang Bhayangkara is regularly bestowed to the high-ranking officers of the National Police and National Armed Forces of Indonesia.