The Shortfall of the State-Owned Enterprises (Serial 2): Allocation of Commissioner Seats for Jokowi Supporters
JAKARTA – Not long after Abdee Negara Nurdin or Abdee “Slank” took up the position of commissioner at PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (TLKM), social media Twitter was enlivened with the hashtag #BismillahKomisaris. The sarcastic-clad joke was made by netizens after learning that Abdee Slank publicly supported President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the 2019 presidential […]
Nasional
JAKARTA – Not long after Abdee Negara Nurdin or Abdee “Slank” took up the position of commissioner at PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (TLKM), social media Twitter was enlivened with the hashtag #BismillahKomisaris.
The sarcastic-clad joke was made by netizens after learning that Abdee Slank publicly supported President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) in the 2019 presidential election contestation. Abdi is known to have joined as Spokesperson for the Jokowi-Maruf Amin National Campaign Team (TKN).
This raises questions about the shuffling of directors and commissioners’ seats in the State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN), which the minister, Erick Thohir, has intensively carried out. The former Inter Milan boss has drawn sharp criticism due to being accused of applying the politics of reciprocation.
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Erick also left a seat for Arya Sinulingga’s “men” as the commissioner of Telkom Indonesia. Although the political spotlight on this return has only emerged for some time, the seat of commissioners and directors in SOEs bodies that have been given to Jokowi’s volunteers has been around for a long time.
Seat Closeout
According to TrenAsia.com, this phenomenon occurred not long after Jokowi officially took office as President of Indonesia at the beginning of the first term. At the beginning of his leadership, Jokowi appointed Fadjroel Rachman who was a member of the Jokowi-Jusuf Kalla winning team to become a Commissioner at PT Adhi Karya (Persero) Tbk (ADHI).
Fadjroel is not alone, the General Chairperson of the Jokowi Volunteer Front (Bara JP), Viktor S. Sirait, did not take long to fill the commissioner seat of PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk (WSKT) shortly after Jokowi was inaugurated.
Then, three politicians who support Jokowi, including Ramin Nasution, and Cahaya Dwi Rembulan, followed to sit on the commissioner seats of PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk (BMRI) in the same year.
Still from the banking cluster, there are Rizal Ramli, Pataniari Siahaan, Revrison Baswir, and Anny Ratnawati who once served as commissioners of PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBNI).
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A number of observers who support Jokowi’s policy draft also have a place in state-owned companies. Legal observer Refly Harun is known to be the commissioner of PT Jasa Marga (Persero) Tbk (JSMR) and economist Hendri Saparini at Telkom Indonesia.
In the second period, the dismantling of the seats for the commissioner of this SOEs happened again. Apart from Abdee Slank and Arya Sinulingga, a number of Jokowi-Maruf TKN alumnus are now sitting in the seats of a number of state-owned companies.
There are also Ulin Ni’am Yusron who fills the seat of PT Indonesia Tourism Development (Persero), Eko Sulistyo at PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) or PLN, Kristia Budiyarto at PT Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (Persero) or Pelni.
Then, Mustar Bona Ventura who filled the seat of PT Dahana (Persero), Chairman of Sedulur Jokowi, Paiman Raharjo, at PT Perusahaan Gas Negara (Persero) Tbk (PGAS), to Budiman Sudjatmiko at PT Perkebunan Nusantara V (Persero) or PTPN V. Another one is Basuki Tjahaja Purnama or Ahok who serves as the President Commissioner of PT Pertamina (Persero).
The Luster of Comissioner Salary
Responding to this old recurring phenomenon, Public Policy Observer, Agus Pambagio assesses that the mechanism for terminating SOEs commissioners has been problematic from the start. This is because the appointment of commissioners who are supporters of Jokowi is not based on the principles of good corporate governance (GCG).
“These SOEs commissioners, especially those who are not Tbk, many whose sales are only through a letter can continue to become SOEs officials. Not a few are also only by telephone, immediately appointed, this does not have the principles of GCG (good corporate governance),” Agus said in a virtual discussion, Wednesday, June 16, 2021.
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Agus looked at a number of reasons behind the proliferation of Jokowi supporters in the SOEs seat. According to him, the high salary factor in state-owned companies is the main attraction that is difficult to avoid.
The following is a search for the value of salaries, allowances, and bonuses from a number of SOEs that are the highest contributors of dividends to state revenues through financial reports on the PT Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) for the 2020 financial year.
| SOEs | Number of Comissioners | Total Salary Expenditure + Allowance | Average salary per person/ per year | Total Tantiem | Average Tantiem per person/ per year |
| PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI) | 10 | Rp43,74 billion | Rp4,3 billion | Rp103,58 billion | Rp10 billion |
| PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (TLKM) | 9 | Rp96,0 billion | Rp10,6 billion | Rp6,06 billion | Rp673 juta |
| PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk (BMRI) | 10 | Rp57,02 billion | Rp5,7 billion | Rp113,63 billion | Rp11,63 billion |
| PT Bank Negara Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBNI) | 10 | Rp19,97 billion | Rp1,9 billion | Rp55,41 billion | Rp5,41 billion |
With exorbitant salaries and bonuses, Arif said it was not surprising that those who had “victimized” during the presidential election wanted to occupy the SOEs commissioner seat. “That’s up to billions, that’s why this ‘comfortable’ seat is a target,” he said.
Not Up to Competence
The dismantling of SOEs commissioners who are not in accordance with their competence leaves negative implications for the company’s performance. Therefore, Arif encouraged Erick Thohir not to sell the commissioner seat and prioritize his capabilities.
“In SOEs, there are commissioners who are very fierce because they want to show their abilities, even though they have zero abilities. There are also those who become commissioners, receive salaries, but never have a meeting, how can we upgrade SOEs?” Arif complained.
It’s not enough to get there, multiple positions are still a deep-rooted problem in SOEs. Transparency International Indonesia (TII) researcher, Danang Widoyoko, said that the dual positions of public officials in the seats of the SOEs commissioner further exacerbated the situation.
In addition to the performance that will not be optimal, this concurrent position has the potential to present a conflict of interest within the SOEs body. According to TII records, there are 249 bureaucrats who also sit as commissioners of SOEs. Most of the bureaucrats come from the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), the Ministry of SOEs, and the Ministry of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR).
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“The supervisory function of a commissioner will not be clear if he also serves in the ministry. In addition to double salaries, this is a problem that can lead to conflicts of interest in the taking of SOEs corporate actions or government policies,” said Danang in a dialogue, Wednesday, June 16, 2021.
Danang took the example of a conflict of interest from the dual position of the head of the Financial and Development Supervisory Agency (BPKP) who also filled the position of Bank Mandiri commissioner. The two places of work that are in harmony are considered by Danang to have a high potential for conflict of interest.
Danang also encouraged the Ministry of SOEs to be more transparent in the recruitment process for commissioners of state-owned companies. The recruitment that has been carried out so far, said Danang, is not transparent, resulting in many SOEs officials stumbling over corruption cases.
According to records, as many as 156 SOEs officials stumbled on corruption cases in 2015-2020. This is what must then be corrected by the Ministry of SOEs by being more selective and transparent in appointing commissioners of state-owned companies. (SKO)
This article is the last series of special reports in the previous series entitled “The Shortfall of the State-Owned Enterprises”
Writer: Muhamad Arfan Septiawan
Editor: Sukirno