Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan inaugurated on Wednesday morning five members of a corruption prevention committee as part of his Governors Team for Development Acceleration (TGUPP)
akarta Governor Anies Baswedan inaugurated on Wednesday morning five members of a corruption prevention committee as part of his Governors Team for Development Acceleration (TGUPP). The newly formed committee is led by Bambang Widjojanto, a former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner and member of Anies’ campaign team during last year’s gubernatorial election.
The other four members of the committee are former National Police deputy chief Oegroseno, former TGUPP head Mohammad Yusup, lawyer and human rights activist Nursyahbani Katjasungkana and good governance expert Tatak Ujiyati.
Anies explained that the committee was formed to create a corruption-free administration and develop civil servants with integrity. He, however, did not provide details on the duties of the committee.
“We wanted to encourage good governance that was transparent, accountable and efficient,” Anies said on the sidelines of the inauguration at City Hall, adding that the committee was the first TGUPP team to be inaugurated in 2018.
In addition to the corruption prevention team, Anies also planned to create economic, coastal development and regulatory harmonization committees. A total of 73 individuals will work within the teams.
Public policy expert from Padjadjaran University Yogi Suprayogi questioned Anies’ decision to create a corruption prevention team, saying that the team should have a clear goal, such as increasing the integrity index of the city administration. Yogi said the index of the previous administration, which was led by former governors Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama and Djarot Saiful Hidayat, was strong.
“The new committee should be able to boost the index, or else it would be useless,” Yogi said. “If it doesn’t have a clear goal, I am afraid the team was only created to accommodate Anies’ colleagues.”
A member of the corruption prevention team, Tatak Ujiyati, confirmed separately that she was a colleague of the governor when they worked together at a non-governmental organization.
“Both of us were the initiators of Governance Index NGO, whose function was to evaluate the performance of provincial governments in the country,” she said.
Another public policy expert, Agus Pambagio, said he did not see the new committee as necessary to prevent corruption. The governor just needed to be firm in handling subordinates proven to have committed a crime, he added.
“The team was not essential because we already had other corruption prevention bodies like the KPK and Saber Pungli [illegal levies eradication task force],” Agus said, adding that he felt creation of the new committee wasted the city budget.
“The administration could have used the money to solve urgent problems like severe inundation in the capital. The money could be used in river dredging.”
The committee head will receive a monthly salary of around Rp 41 million (US$3,046), while each member will receive salaries ranging from Rp 8 million to Rp 31 million per month, depending on their work experience.
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.