I

t is typical Javanese-style politics: give someone a whack, but using someone else’s hand. A recent tussle between a minister, supported by the Vice President, and a CEO of a state firm, with the backing of the President’s most trusted minister, has exposed the extremely unhealthy working environment in the Cabinet.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Sudirman Said has once again vented his frustration at Sofyan Basir, the president director of electricity provider PLN, the nation’s biggest state company by assets, accusing him of ignoring ministerial instructions.

The brouhaha implicating graft-ridden PLN has exacerbated the already uncertain and complicated environment for investors participating in the 35,000 megawatt (MW) power project, intended as the signature legacy of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo.

With Sudirman holding prime authority in electricity policy, Sofyan is aware that going against the minister means trouble, unless other powerful figures have his back secured — or are pulling his strings.

The scope of the battle seems to be limited not just to Sudirman and Sofyan, but to opposing camps in the Cabinet: one led by Vice President Jusuf Kalla, the other by State-Owned Enterprises Minister Rini Soemarno — one Jokowi’s handful of confidants.

Sudirman, a Kalla loyalist, went on another tirade last week when Sofyan failed to attend a public meeting held by the ministry to discuss progress in the 35,000 MW projects. Sudirman’s frustration with Sofyan hit boiling point as he openly shared his bitterness over the latter’s insubordination.

The minister warned Sofyan not to be a “prodigal son” for his betrayal of his institution. Sofyan is also accused of ignoring several of Sudirman’s requests for meetings to resolve their differences.

In response, Sofyan denied relations were strained between him and the minister, insisting that he was not aware of last week’s meeting because his staff had failed to pass on him the ministry’s faxed invitation. He also claimed to have regularly attended technical meetings held by Sudirman’s staff.

Sofyan has been at PLN’s helm since December 2014 and never declared any opposition to Sudirman and Kalla until early this year, when he rejected the ministry’s regulation on the floor price for electricity produced by micro-hydro power plants, which are owned by many politically wired businessmen.

Sofyan argued the company would suffer huge losses unless the government allocated the necessary subsidies because PLN was required to buy the electricity at a price of Rp 1,560 (11 Us cents)-Rp 2,080/kWh but sell it to consumers at Rp 450-Rp 1,350/k Wh.

Before the dust had settled, Sofyan unilaterally terminated the tender for the coal-fired 2 x 1,000 MW Jawa 5 power plant in Serang, Banten, the biggest project of the wider 35.000 MW project, citing problems in “good governance”. Sofyan also refused to go forward with the construction of a high-voltage (HVDC) cable connecting Sumatra and Java, insisting it was no longer economically feasible and unnecessary as Java was almost at full electrical capacity.

PLN again drew Sudirman’s ire last month by dragging its feet in proposing the 2016-2019 business plan for electricity provision (RUPTL); Sofyan argued the plan would only benefit private contractors, while PLN would be left with the less profitable projects.

Sofyan’s repeated insubordination is considered by politicians to be unprecedented, given his track record as one of “Kalla’s boys”. A banker by training, Sofyan owes much of his stellar career to Kalla, the latter promoting him in 2005 to lead state-run Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), then the nation’s third-biggest bank by assets, a meteoric rise to public fame after leading minor lender Bank Bukopin.

When Kalla ended his term as vice president to then president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in 2009, Sofyan did not lose his political backing, remaining trusted by Yudhoyono to continue serving until Jokowi took power in October 2014.

After transforming BRI into the country’s second-biggest bank by assets and one of its most profitable, Sofyan was proposed by Kalla to lead PLN; this was approved by Jokowi, who at that time had less knowledge of corporate bigwigs.

Sofyan saw smooth sailing as he learned the ropes in his first year leading PLN in 2015. But things turned rough early this year as he started to oppose certain interests plaguing PLN and igniting the ferocity of Kalla and Sudirman.

Given the many projects Kalla and his group of companies have with PLN, the public is already aware of the depth of engagement the Vice President has in electricity policy. It was Kalla who initiated the first 10,000 MW projects in 2005 and another 35,000 MW in 2015.

Sofyan’s opposition intensified at a time when Kalla’s influence in the Cabinet and in the House of Representatives was starting to dwindle. “Sofyan is no longer on Kalla’s list of golf buddies,” said a politician in Kalla’s camp last month, indicating the discontent at the way Sofyan betrayed Kalla.

Kalla has often criticized Sofyan for the way he manages PLN and once advised Jokowi to have him replaced.

As Sofyan’s relations with Kalla and Sudirman turn sour, the PLN CEO seems conversely to have enjoyed ever more cordial relations with Rini and Jokowi, touring several provinces with the President to inspect the progress of power plant construction.

The President, as evident in several State Palace photographs and advertisements placed by PLN in several media outlets, seems to have enjoyed Sofyan’s companionship.

As Sofyan shied away from meeting Sudirman, he inched closer to Rini, repeatedly attending functions organized by the State-Owned Enterprises Ministry. On Monday Sofyan participated in a trivial public forum, standing beside Rini and posing for photographs.

By regulation, PLN president director has two direct superiors: the energy and mineral resources minister for policy and the state-owned enterprises minister for performance scorecards, with the authority to dismiss and retain the boards of directors and commissioners.

Sofyan explained that the firm had a responsibility to both ministers, but claimed that Sudirman tended to issue regulations without regard for business interests and the company’s profitability.

With Rini, who has fallen out of favor in almost all quarters of the ruling coalition, refusing to back Sudirman in facing Sofyan’s disobedience, the whole public display of abhorrence seems to indicate troubles in Jokowi-Kalla relations, with the latter having been given only minor roles since early this year.

The incident is reminiscent of the rant launched previously by Coordinating Maritime Minister Rizal Ramli against Sudirman and Kalla last year, with Jokowi sitting idly by, apparently condoning his officials publically stabbing each other in the back.

These incidents have begged the question: Is the President indirectly commending his officials, or using indirect means to have the Vice President sidelined?

While the imminent Cabinet shake-up will determine which camps are on the wane and which waxing, the President needs to ensure differences among the ruling elites no longer spiral into policies that may prove detrimental to businesses, as evident in the PLN brouhaha.
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The writer is managing editor of The Jakarta Post.