Denny ready to face Constitutional Court ruling on deputy ministers

Denny Indrayana: Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister. (JP/Ricky Yudhistira)

Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Denny Indrayana says he is ready to face the Constitutional Court ruling set to be handed down on Tuesday.

"I am ready and I will respect whatever the court says tomorrow [Tuesday]," Denny told The Jakarta Post on Monday via text message.

He said it would be a no-loss situation for him even if the court ruled that the position of deputy minister was unconstitutional.

"I have nothing to lose. I will go back to teaching at Gadjah Mada University if they decide to annul the deputy minister positions," Denny said.

"I am taking it easy; just like the Bob Marley song, ‘No Wamen [deputy minister], No Cry’."

The court is expected to deliver a ruling on Tuesday on the legality of the position of deputy minister.

Several hearings have been held to hear complaints from a number of NGOs, which have challenged the legality of deputy minister posts, claiming that the new position violates the 2009 State Ministry Law.

The NGOs consider the creation of deputy minister posts a waste of state money.

Earlier, Constitutional Court Chief Justice Mahfud MD said the deputy minister post compromised the state’s administrative system as it allowed non-career officials to join the ranks of the bureaucracy.

While there are several other deputy ministers, Denny’s post is one of the most controversial as he did not have the grade seniority to be named a deputy minister. He was only a junior official, graded at III/C.

The deputy ministerial post requires a very senior official holding a IA echelon post.

Denny’s appointment was in contrast to Anggito Abimanyu’s fate whose nomination as finance deputy minister was scrapped at the last minute due to seniority reasons. Anggito, who already attained the IA echelon with IV grade, was head of the finance ministry’s fiscal policy agency, a IB echelon post, and far outranked Denny’s grade.

The government quickly raised Denny’s grade status to meet the requirements of a deputy minister. (nvn)