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View all search resultsDeputy ministers' double jobs risk govt's performance
The lack of a checking mechanism for underperforming deputy ministers raises the risk of conflicts of interest for cabinet members holding double positions as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) commissioners, which may undermine the government's overall performance, experts have warned.
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Red and White: The ministers of President Prabowo Subianto's cabinet gather for a group photo after their swearing-in ceremony at the State Palace in Jakarta on Oct. 21, 2024. (Antara Foto/Hafidz Mubarak A)
T
he appointment of dozens of deputy ministers as state-owned enterprises’ (SOEs) commissioners has raised renewed questions over conflicts of interest and the potential impact on the government’s overall performance, amid the lack of any mechanism to evaluate poorly performing cabinet members.
At least 30 of the 55 deputy ministers in President Prabowo Subianto’s bloated Red and White Cabinet, the largest since the country’s Reform era and which comprises more than 100 members, are now also serving as commissioners in some of the country’s largest SOEs and their subsidiaries.
Such an arrangement may create overlapping roles that open the door to potential conflicts of interest, according to constitutional law expert Yance Arizona from Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
“Deputy ministers are supposed to serve the public and ensure regulations are implemented, while commissioners focus on securing profits for SOEs,” Yance said. “Mixing regulatory duties with profit-making interests easily creates conflicts of interest.”
Conflicts of interest may also arise when deputy ministers serve as commissioners in firms operating in sectors overlapping with their duties in the cabinet, risking turning regulators into operators, which would “undermine fair governance”, Yance continued.
Read also: Concerns mount over deputy ministers’ concurrent positions in SOEs
The law expert also highlighted a possible violation of the State Ministries Law, which bans ministers from holding commissioner roles in a business, as well as the Public Service Law that prohibits public officials from holding positions in business management.
