Alexander Sabar

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Alexander Sabar
Sabar in 2025
Director General of Digital Space Supervision
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 November 2024[a]
Preceded byOffice established
Personal details
NationalityIndonesian
EducationPolice Science College (S.I.K.)
Jayabaya University (M.H.)
University of Indonesia (Dr.)
Military service
Allegiance Indonesia
Branch/serviceIndonesian National Police
Years of service1996–present
RankInspector general
UnitDetachment 88
  1. ^ Acting until 13 January 2025

Alexander Sabar is an Indonesian police officer who is currently serving as the director general of digital space supervision since 18 November 2024. A 1996 police academy graduate, Sabar served in the police's counterterrorism unit, the Detachment 88, before being transferred to the National Narcotics Board and the National Counter Terrorism Agency.

Education

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Alexander Sabar is a 1996 graduate of the Indonesian Police Academy[1] and pursued bachelor's degree in policing sciences at the Police Science College (Perguruan Tinggi Ilmu Kepolisian, PTIK) from 2002 to 2004.[2] He received his master's degree in law from the Jayabaya University before pursuing doctorate studies in criminology at the University of Indonesia in 2020 after being asked to teach on terrorism and cyber topics at the Police Science College.[3] During his doctorate studies, he developed E-Vicpro, a digital application to formulate compensation calculations for crime victims.[4]

Sabar at his doctorate graduation ceremony.

According to Sabar, his thesis advisor Adrianus Meliala kept pressing him to complete his studies, to the point where he was more scared facing his thesis defense than terrorists.[3] He successfully defended his dissertation, titled Hyperreality and Simulacrum in Cyber Terrorism Propaganda in Indonesia, with a "very satisfactory" distinction. At his thesis defense, the chief examiner Dody Prayogo jokingly commended his efforts by stating that he would've obtained the cum laude distinction had if he not took five years to graduate. His thesis defense was attended by prominent police figures, including chief of the National Narcotics Board Marthinus Hukom and former chiefs of the National Counter Terrorism Agency Eddy Hartono and Rycko Amelza Dahniel.[3]

Aside from his formal education, Sabar also completed several short-term and non-degree education. He received specialized training from Interpol, such as Computer Investigation and Forensics and The 2nd Interpol Train the Trainer Workshop on Computer Forensics for Asia and South Pacific, as well as Virtual Forensic Computing (VFC) Method Training from the Cyber Crimes Investigation Center and Computer Investigation and Forensic Training from the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance.[1]

Career

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Sabar spent most of his career in matters relating to cybercrime and counter-terrorism. His work in this field began in 2006 as a primary investigator in the Cyber Crime Unit at the Criminal Investigation Agency of the National Police. By 2020, he reached the rank of police grand commissioner, and served as a mid-level analyst for intelligence affairs within the Detachment 88. On 16 November 2020, the national police chief reassigned him to the National Counter Terrorism Agency[5] to serve as the deputy director (chief of subdirectorate) for intelligence.[6]

On 23 December 2022, Sabar was appointed through a telegram by the national police chief as the chief of operations assistance in Detachment 88.[7] He was installed as the director of narcotics under the National Narcotics Board's deputy for eradication on 19 October 2023[8] before being promoted to the rank of police brigadier general on 17 November.[9] He was administratively reassigned to the institution on 8 December[10] before being rotated to serve as intelligence director under the same deputy on 1 February 2024.[11]

Director General of Digital Space Supervision

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Sabar became the acting director general of digital space supervision within the ministry of communication and digital affairs on 18 November 2024. He was appointed to address complex digital threats, notably online gambling, as part of a ministerial "clean-up".[12] He was permanently appointed to the position on 13 January 2025[13] and was promoted to the rank of police inspector general on 14 February 2025.[14] Sabar's appointment drew criticism due to his police background, signaling a "security approach" to digital governance.[15] Indonesia's Internet watchdog, SAFEnet, warned the appointment could create "conflicts of interest" and lead to an excessive security approach that would "curtail freedom of expression," given the police's history of using the ITE law to silence critics.[16]

The newly established directorate general Sabar led elevated the control functions of the less powerful informatics application control directorate, which existed in the previous ministry of communications and information. Under the ministry regulation that established the directorate general, the agency was tasked with handling suspected digital crimes under the 2024 Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) Law and overseeing platforms and internet users.[15]

Shortly upon his appointment, Sabar announced that he would focus on coordinating and consolidating the agency's internal.[17] On 22 January 2025 Sabar requested 706 billion rupiahs, on top of the allocated 172 billion rupiah, to optimize the work of his agency.[15]

Sabar (second from left) with other government officials at the government PR awarding ceremony in 2025.

During his tenure, Sabar oversaw the blocking of prominent websites. On 28 May 2025, he announced that Internet Archive was temporarily blocked in Indonesia due to the presence of gambling and pornography in the website. According to Sabar, his directorate general had already warned the website but received no satisfactory response.[18] The block was eventually lifted after two days.[19] Sabar also suspended the digital permit of TikTok in Indonesia after failing to provide data regarding the activity of its live feature during the August 2025 Indonesian protests to the government.[20] Following the Jakarta school bombing, Sabar announced that the directorate general has blocked sites and social media contents accessed by the perpetrator, which contained elements of violence and information about explosives.[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b Muhid, Hendrik Khoirul (7 December 2024). "Meutya Hafid Tunjuk Brigjen Pol Alexander Sabar Jadi Plt Dirjen Pengawasan Ruang Digital, Apa Tugasnya?". Tempo. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Pelaksanaan seleksi penerimaan Bintara Polri pada Polda X". Perpustakaan STIK. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  3. ^ a b c Febriane, Sarie (24 June 2025). "Alexander Sabar: Sidang Doktoral Itu Menakutkan". Kompas. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  4. ^ "Kombes Pol Alexander Sabar Usulkan Aplikasi Khusus Perhitungan Pergantian Kompensasi Korban Kejahatan". Celoteh. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  5. ^ "Daftar Lengkap Rotasi Besar-besaran di Tubuh Polri" [Complete List of Large-Scale Rotations within the Indonesian National Police]. detikNews. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  6. ^ Alfian, Rizki (13 December 2021). Wicaksono, Ronny (ed.). "BNPT Bertandang ke Ponpes Blokagung Banyuwangi, Ada Apa?" [BNPT Visits Blokagung Islamic Boarding School in Banyuwangi, What's Going On?]. TIMES Indonesia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  7. ^ Rahmawaty, Laily (24 December 2022). Tarmizi, Tasrief (ed.). "Kapolri mutasi 704 personel jelang Natal" [National Police Chief Mutates 704 Personnel Ahead of Christmas]. ANTARA News. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  8. ^ Adhitiawarman, Danica (18 October 2023). "Lantik 17 Pejabat Baru, Kepala BNN: Kita Harus Kerja Penuh Semangat" [Inaugurating 17 New Officials, Head of BNN: We Must Work With Full Spirit]. Detik News. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  9. ^ Sembiring, Krina (17 November 2023). "Selamat! 12 Kombes Pecah Bintang Menjadi Brigjen, Ini Nama-namanya" [Congratulations! 12 Senior Superintendents are Promoted to Brigadier General, Here are the Names]. Sindo News. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  10. ^ CC, Dedy Qurniawan (8 December 2023). Hendra (ed.). "Mutasi Polri Terbaru, Inilah Daftar Nama Dalam TR Kapolri Terbaru 8 Desember 2023 Lengkap" [Latest National Police Mutation, Here is the Complete List of Names in the Latest National Police Chief's Telegram Letter of December 8, 2023]. Bangka Pos. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  11. ^ Endah (2 February 2024). "Kepala BNN RI Marthinus Hukom Lantik 9 Pejabat Baru" [Head of Indonesian National Narcotics Agency (BNN RI) Marthinus Hukom Inaugurates 9 New Officials]. Kabar DKI. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  12. ^ Bestari, Novina Putri (26 November 2024). "Profil Alexander Sabar, Pejabat Komdigi Baru Pengawas Ruang Digital" [Profile of Alexander Sabar, New Komdigi Official Overseeing Digital Space]. CNBC Indonesia. Retrieved 14 November 2025.
  13. ^ Luthfia, Allisa (14 January 2025). Suryanto (ed.). "Profil Alexander Sabar, Dirjen Pengawasan Ruang Digital" [Profile of Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Supervision]. ANTARA News. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  14. ^ Batubara, Herianto (14 February 2025). "Kapolri Pimpin Kenaikan Pangkat Astamaops Komjen Imam hingga Kakorlantas Irjen Agus" [National Police Chief Leads Promotion Ceremony for Astamaops Comr. Gen. Imam to Traffic Corps Chief Insp. Gen. Agus]. detikNews. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  15. ^ a b c Mulyanto, Jesslyn Giovanni (29 January 2025). "Big Brother is watching: Prabowo government tightens control of cyberspace with new digital monitoring agency". Indonesia at Melbourne. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  16. ^ "Pernyataan Sikap SAFEnet: Waspadai Polisisasi Komdigi dan Pengawasan Berlebihan di Dunia Maya". SAFENet. 26 November 2024. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  17. ^ Bestari, Novina Putri (3 December 2024). "Pejabat Komdigi Alexander Sabar Muncul di Publik, Beberkan Tugas Ini". CNBC Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2025-11-14.
  18. ^ Subekti, Rahayu (29 May 2025). Sari, Ferrika Lukmana (ed.). "Komdigi Blokir Archive.org Karena Konten Judi Online dan Pornografi" [Komdigi Blocks Archive.org Due to Online Gambling and Pornography Content]. Katadata. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  19. ^ Damar, Agustinus Mario; Wardani, Agustin Setyo (30 May 2025). "Komdigi Kembali Buka Akses Archive.org: Tekankan Kepatuhan Platform Digital" [Komdigi Reopens Archive.org Access: Stresses Digital Platform Compliance]. Liputan6. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  20. ^ Safitri, Kiki (3 October 2025). Damarjati, Danu (ed.). "Pemerintah Bekukan Sementara Izin TikTok" [Government Temporarily Freezes TikTok's Permit]. Kompas. Retrieved 15 November 2025.
  21. ^ Anggrainy, Firda Cynthia (13 November 2025). "Komdigi Sudah Blokir Situs-Konten Medsos yang Diakses Pelaku Ledakan SMAN 72" [Komdigi Has Blocked Sites and Social Media Content Accessed by SMAN 72 Explosion Perpetrator]. Detik News. Retrieved 15 November 2025.