August 6, 2025 | 01:56 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Dozens of deputy ministers become commissioners of SOEs. This reveals excessive political patronage.
THE practice of returning political favors is becoming more apparent through the appointment of dozens of deputy ministers as commissioners of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). This is a serious symptom of the worsening of governance in the President Prabowo Subianto era.
According to Transparency International Indonesia, as of mid-July 2025, 34 of the 56 deputy ministers in the Red and White Cabinet are also commissioners of SOEs or their subsidiaries. From the point of view of transparency and accountability, these appointments leave many questions unanswered.
There have been no explanations about the selection process or the relevance of the backgrounds of these deputy ministers to the business sectors of the SOEs where they have been appointed. For example, Deputy Presidential Chief of Staff M. Qodari has been appointed a commissioner of Pertamina Hulu Energi; Ahmad Riza Patria, Deputy Minister for Village Affairs, is now a commissioner of Telkomsel, and Giring Ganesha, Deputy Minister of Culture, has a job at Garuda Maintenance Facility.
The appointment of deputy ministers as SOE commissioners is like ‘fattening them up’—giving extra income for officials who have provided political services. The salary of deputy ministers, according to regulations, is only around Rp11.5 million per month. However, the position of commissioner offers a far higher income.
At Pertamina, for example, a commissioner can earn an honorarium of Rp113 million per month. On top of this, there are bonuses based on the company performance—which can reach billions of rupiah. However, Daya Anagata Nusantara Investment Management Agency (Danantara) Chief, Roslan Roeslani, later prohibits the provision of bonuses.
Ironically, although they receive these fantastic incomes, the roles of deputy ministers who are also commissioners in many SOEs are not significant. Except for those in the financial sector, such as banks, SOE commissioners are often simply part of the corporate structure without providing any real contribution or oversight. Yet, commissioners are supposed to carry out their oversight function with competence and integrity.
What is even more problematic is that several deputy ministers serve as commissioners in SOEs that are direct partners of their own ministries. This creates a conflict of interest—a situation where a public official has personal interests that could potentially influence their decisions subjectively. How can someone responsible for policy making remain neutral while overseeing those who implement the policies within their sphere of authority?
The position of deputy minister was initially designed as a technocratic role to provide assistance for ministers who came from political parties. However, since President Joko Widodo’s second term, these positions began to be filled by political figures. Now, in the Prabowo era, the number of deputy ministers has swelled to 56 people, with 23 of them coming from political parties.
Prabowo should not renege on point 7 of Asta Cita—his administration’s vision that promises bureaucratic reform and professional management of SOEs and free from practical political interests.
If the principles of meritocracy, in other words selection based on performance, and professionalism continue to be ignored in the appointment of commissioners, the confidence of the public, investors and business partners in SOEs will be eroded.
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