TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsGerindra dominates SOE commissioner seats, survey shows
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
President Prabowo Subianto, who also serves as the chairman of Gerindra, is seen on a large screen as he speaks during the party's 17th anniversary in Bogor, West Java, on Feb. 15, 2025. (AFP/Aditya Aji)
T
he dominance of politically connected figures in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is again under scrutiny after a survey revealed that one-third of commissioner seats are held by political appointees, many linked to President Prabowo Subianto’s Gerindra party.
The survey, conducted by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) from Aug. 13 to Sept. 25, found that nearly 165 of the 652 commissioner positions in SOEs are held by individuals with political backgrounds. Of these 104 are affiliated with political parties and 61 are non-party volunteers who supported Prabowo’s presidential campaign.
Among the party-linked commissioners, Gerindra, which is cofounded and now led by Prabowo, has nominated 48.6 percent of the seats, far outpacing other parties in the ruling coalition.
Following Gerindra, the Democratic Party occupies 9.2 percent of commissioner posts, Golkar holds 8.3 percent, and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), the only de facto opposition party, National Mandate Party (PAN) and the Indonesian Solidarity Party (PSI) each represent 5.5 percent.
The survey also mapped the broader makeup of SOE commissioners: 174 were identified as bureaucrats, 165 as political figures, 133 as professionals, 35 with military backgrounds, 29 from security and law enforcement, 15 academics, 10 from mass organizations and one former high-ranking government official.
Read also: SOEs Law revision to ban deputy ministers from holding commissioner roles
TII secretary-general Danang Widoyoko criticized the “patronage politics” that has long shaped the composition of SOE boards, noting that such practices undermine the effectiveness and professionalism of these institutions.
