T

he Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) has called on West Java Deputy Governor Deddy Mizwar, a Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) politician, to stop working in the entertainment industry and start focusing on his job as a government official.

The KPK gratuity director, Giri Suprapdiono, said it was wrong for Deddy to continue acting in television soap operas (sinetron), while millions of residents in West Java were still living in poverty.

'€œState officials should use their time to serve the public,'€ Giri told reporters over the weekend.

Giri also called on Deddy to submit his wealth report to the KPK, including details of his income earned from starring in sinetron and a number of television commercials.

'€œWe have the authority to determine whether the money should be considered a gratuity or not,'€
he said.

He said that the warning sent to Deddy was earlier sent to regional heads in the country to brief them about the definition of a gratuity.

The Ahmad Heryawan-Deddy ticket, nominated by the PKS, won the West Java gubernatorial election last year after beating the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) pairing of Rieke Diah Pitaloka and antigraft activist Teten Masduk. The PKS ticket won 33 percent of the vote against 27 percent for the PDI-P pair.

Golkar Party pair Irianto M.S.Syafiuddin-Tatang Farhanul Hakim came in third with 12 percent of the vote.

Deddy, an award-winning actor, well-known for his legendary role as general Nagabonar in the eponymous period piece, continues to star in especially religious-themed sinetron, a central feature of local television during Ramadhan.

Deddy, who once served as National Film Development Agency (BP2N) chairman, has also continued to appear in numerous television commercials, including an ad for a famous sausage brand, which was credited as being influential in introducing him to voters in the lead up to the West Java gubernatorial election.

Anti-corruption activist and lecturer from the University of Sultan Ageng Tirtayasa in Banten, Dahnil Anzar, said Deddy'€™s moonlight as an actor was unethical.

'€œThis type of government official fails to set an example. He should be a role model by focusing on serving the public,'€ Dahnil said on Saturday as quoted by tempo.co.

He said it no crime for Deddy to be paid for acting in sinetron or commercials.

'€œBut, this is a problem of ethics,'€ Dahnil said.

Deddy has defended his decision to continue working in the entertainment industry.

'€œWhat'€™s wrong with spending my free time doing this?'€ Deddy said as quoted by tempo.co.

Deddy insisted his activities in show business did not interfere with his job as deputy governor because the majority of the filming took place in the evening. (put)