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Indonesian minister in hot water for telling civil servants not to criticize government
A minister is being lambasted for telling civil servants not to criticize the government.
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Hundreds of civil servants with the West Java administration line up to shake hands with acting governor Comr. Gen. Mochamad Iriawan on the first day of work after the 10-day Idul Fitri holiday at the Gedung Sate gubernatorial office in Bandung, West Java, in 2018. (JP/Arya Dipa)
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egal experts have denounced Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Syafruddin's recent statement prohibiting members of the state civil apparatus (ASN) from publicly criticizing the government, suggesting that the statement was uncalled for in regard to the freedom of expression of a group of people who account for more than 4 million citizens in the country.
Syafruddin, an active police general, said that the law had forbidden civil servants from criticizing the government, without specifying which law he was referring to. The ASN refers to civil servants (PNS) and state employees with employment agreements (PPKK).
"Yes, the law [said] so, [they should] stay in their roles, not in the criticizing role. Giving progressive input and advice is alright, but not in the public sphere, especially by making a scene and launching attacks. There are rules that should be followed," he said at the Vice Presidential Palace in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The statement was made in light of the investigation of the Kampar Police in Riau into a civil servant in the province who allegedly posted online a negative comment regarding the recent knife attack against Coordinating Political, Legal and Security Affairs Minister Wiranto. KompasTV reported on Monday that the Kampar administration would impose a sanction against the civil servant if the latter was proven guilty.
"For every child of the nation, whether the ASN, law enforcers, media and the general public, there are regulations binding each of them," Syafruddin said.
Bivitri Susanti, a constitutional law expert from the Jakarta-based Jentera School of Law, said that Law No. 5/2014 on ASN contained a wide code of ethics that the ASN must follow, but it did not outright prohibit them from criticizing the government in public.
"That there is a code of ethics for ASN is reasonable because, to be fair, every company has one as well. What shouldn't have been allowed was a public official announcing [the prohibition] through mass media to create fear. That was unethical [...] and not in line with freedom of expression," she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, suggesting that the statement had come off as a threat to the ASN.
