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SBY tells ministers to return state assets
The long good-bye: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center back) and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono address a gathering with State Secretary staff outside the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday
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span class="inline inline-center">The long good-bye: President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (center back) and First Lady Ani Yudhoyono address a gathering with State Secretary staff outside the Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Thursday. Yudhoyono, whose term in office will end on Oct. 20, said good-bye to the staff. Antara/Widodo S. Jusuf
With less than two months left in office, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reminded all Cabinet ministers to return any state property in a timely fashion so that he can leave behind a good legacy untainted by irregularities.
Yudhoyono said the ministers should return state assets especially official houses and cars to prevent possible smear campaigns against his name in the future.
'[I] once heard that items were missing when [official residences] at the ministerial housing complex at Jl. Widya Chandra and Jl. Denpasar were handed back,' the outgoing President said on Thursday after a limited Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Office. 'I don't want such a thing to happen again. Please do it properly, run a thorough check and return everything.'
The request was one of seven instructions Yudhoyono issued on the day. Other instructions included an obligation for his ministers to help president-elect Joko 'Jokowi' prepare his administration and not to comment on the president-elect's policy plans; not to replace senior ministry officials or other strategic staff ' including those in the National Police and the Military ' as well as the heads of state-owned enterprises (BUMN); and to help Jokowi prepare for his upcoming overseas trips as head of state.
Yudhoyono also expressed his support for Jokowi's plan for budget austerity through efficient use of state facilities. 'If the Jokowi administration wants to make more savings, I support those good intentions,' he said. 'No need to contrast it with the previous administration, it is a part of the continuity of government and development.'
Yudhoyono, however, slammed his critics who have said that his administration often engaged in wasteful spending, pointing to several examples of budget cuts he had made, including the Rp 43 trillion (US$3.64 billion) in savings this year and his decision not to raise his own salary, or those of Vice President Boediono, Cabinet ministers and local heads.
Yudhoyono said these officials' salaries should actually have been raised after receiving no increases in the past 10 years.
'I hope the people will not judge ministers as living large. To be honest, ministerial incomes are modest compared to their responsibilities and social status,' he said, adding that ministers' salaries were lower than those of other state officials, particularly executives of BUMN, and the CEOs of private firms.
Late last year, Yudhoyono decided to revoke two presidential regulations only days after signing them following criticism that the regulations were unfair as they allowed government officials and ministers to seek medical treatment abroad at the taxpayer's expense.
Also in 2013, Yudhoyono told the nation's regents to stop complaining and follow his example of endurance following eight years of being subject to constant humiliation as Indonesia's head of state.
At that time, Yudhoyono reminded the regional leaders to be careful when discussing the issue with journalists, citing his own bitter experience when he raised questions about his salary two years ago. The 2011 remarks had sparked a nationwide controversy.
The presidential salary has remained unchanged at Rp 62.5 million per month since Yudhoyono first took office in 2004, according to a press release from the Presidential Palace in 2006. The presidential household also receives a monthly Rp 2 billion stipend.
The President also declined to comment on a plan to procure new official cars for ministers and senior officials for the next administration as the purchase had already been made.
The State Secretariat has earmarked Rp 104.4 billion from the 2014 state budget for the car procurement and announced that PT Mercedes-Benz Indonesia won the procurement bid.
Jokowi has rejected the plan and insists that in the interest of efficiency he will not procure new cars for his future Cabinet members.
Separately, Jokowi said he was surprised by Yudhoyono's Rp 18 trillion allocation for ministerial meetings in the 2015 state budget. 'What kind of meetings will they be? Why Rp 18 trillion? I don't understand,' he said, adding that he would put some of the funds to better use.
