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KUALA LUMPUR - The Indonesian Deputy Minister for the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers (P2MI), Dzulfikar Ahmad Tawalla, has said that active police officers are needed in his ministry to help tackle human trafficking cases.

He warned that human trafficking remains widespread in the country.

“Active police personnel at KP2MI have become a strategic necessity,” he said in a statement last Saturday.

Dzulfikar explained that the presence of police officers is crucial because addressing human trafficking is a highly complex issue.

He added that human trafficking is a cross-border crime that often relies on networks between countries, making it difficult to handle.

He noted that the Ministry of P2MI, Mukhtarudin and the police have agreed to set up a special desk to handle illegal migrant workers and human trafficking cases.

“With the desk in place, all parties with authority and responsibility to protect Indonesian migrant workers can coordinate directly,” Dzulfikar said.

He said that having active police within P2MI would make law enforcement against human trafficking faster and more efficient, as communication and coordination would improve, and efforts to prevent illegal migrant worker deployment could be intensified.

Dzulfikar emphasized that the police’s experience in investigations, intelligence, and operational law enforcement is highly relevant to tackling illegal migration and exploitation.

He pointed out that the Ministry of P2MI has limitations in human resources, budget, and legal enforcement powers.

“To carry out prevention, monitoring, and enforcement, P2MI needs active police officers,” Dzulfikar said.

Currently, the Ministry already has a cyber director who is an active police officer.

According to Dzulfikar, the role is suitable for a senior police officer experienced in cyber matters.

Earlier, the Constitutional Court ruled that police officers who wish to hold civil positions must resign or retire first.

This is included in the ruling of Case Number 114/PUU-XXIII/2025 regarding a challenge to Article 28 paragraph (3) and its explanation under Law Number 2 of 2002 on the Indonesian National Police.

Chief Justice Suhartoyo delivered the verdict in the main courtroom of the Constitutional Court in Central Jakarta on Thursday, November 13, 2025, granting the applicants’ request in full.

The Constitutional Court declared that the phrase or not based on an assignment from the Chief of Police in the explanation of Article 28 paragraph (3) of the Police Law is unconstitutional.

The ruling confirms that active police officers can only take civil positions after resigning or retiring from the police force.

The Court emphasized that the phrase or not based on an assignment from the Chief of Police no longer has legal force, meaning that all active police assignments outside the police structure now lack a legal basis.