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Jakarta governor aids in Prabowo’s fight
Amid the protests against the 2019 presidential election results that have gone into the legal sphere of the Constitutional Court, a side story involving losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s legal representatives has put a spotlight on members of Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s special staff
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span>Amid the protests against the 2019 presidential election results that have gone into the legal sphere of the Constitutional Court, a side story involving losing presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto’s legal representatives has put a spotlight on members of Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan’s special staff.
Opposition leader Prabowo and his electoral running mate, Sandiaga Uno, have filed a challenge of the final results announced by the General Elections Commission (KPU) with the court, disputing the KPU’s conclusion that incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Ma’ruf Amin pair won the 2019 presidential election. The challenge was launched amid escalating tensions manifested in protests by the pair’s supporters over claims that the election results were marred by fraud.
One of Prabowo’s legal representatives who filed the dispute with the court on May 24 was Bambang Widjojanto. Bambang, a former Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) commissioner who was also part of Anies’ campaign team during the 2017 gubernatorial elections. Soon after Anies took office in October 2017, he appointed Bambang to lead the legal and corruption prevention committee of the Jakarta Governor’s Team for Accelerated Development (TGUPP) in January 2018.
Bambang’s involvement in Prabowo and Sandiaga’s efforts to overturn the election results has raised questions over the conflicts of interest in the governor’s circle.
Anies quickly refuted that there was any conflict of interest, claiming that the case Bambang was handling was not related to any city administration issues. He also said it was Bambang’s right as a citizen to legally represent anyone.
“That is the right of a citizen. They [legal representatives] are not civil servants so they are entitled to decide their political preferences,” he said on Thursday.
Moreover, the governor said Bambang had taken leave from his job at the TGUPP and that he would not receive a salary during his absence.
“He will not receive a salary at all during his leave,” Anies added.
Bambang reportedly requested a one-month leave of absence from the administration. However, if the process in the Constitutional Court takes longer, Anies said that Bambang would be required to request more leave.
Jakarta Development Planning Board (Bappeda) secretary Dewi Rustiowati, who is an ex-officio member appointed to support the TGUPP administratively, as according to the 2019 gubernatorial TGUPP regulation, confirmed through a text message to The Jakarta Post that Bambang was allowed to take one-month leave and would not be paid.
Anies’ TGUPP previously sparked public controversy, with observers highlighting that the team had more than 70 members, most of whom are city officials and professionals. Their monthly salaries, which range from Rp 8 million (US$553) to Rp 50 million and are paid out of the city budget, also raised some eyebrows.
The team was first established under the administration of then Jakarta governor Jokowi, who limited it to a maximum of seven members paid out of the governor’s operational fund.
According to the 2017 gubernatorial decree on the financial rights of TGUPP members, the pay of team members was based on days of work attendance.
Regional Autonomy Watch executive director Robert Endi Jaweng said that the underlying problem was whether the team was important.
“If the governor thinks that this team is a strategic one, a team member should not be allowed to work on and off like that,” he said.
“The basic problem is there is no clarity over standards for the TGUPP which could be used for the governor’s political interests,” Robert added.
He said despite every citizen having the right to support a particular political figure, the actions of Anies’ team members should be limited as they were part of the city administration.
Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) coordinator Adnan Topan Husodo, however, expressed a different opinion.
He said the city administration was correct not to pay Bambang while he was taking leave to argue for the Prabowo camp in court.
“It is no longer questionable if he takes leave without being paid. It is clear that [he] does not stand in two places at the same time,” he said.
Still, Adnan said it was important to evaluate the TGUPP’s performance, as the members’ salaries were paid from the city budget. The performances of the team members should be publicized to prove their accountability, he said. Also, the City Council should regularly evaluate the team, he added.
