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Erick Thohir 'surprised' that an SOE director served in six other commissioner seats at once

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir said he was surprised to find out that many directors of state-owned companies held more than one position at a time.

News Desk (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sat, December 14, 2019

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Erick Thohir 'surprised' that an SOE director served in six other commissioner seats at once SOEs Minister Erick Thohir. (JP/Seto Wardhana)

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir said he was surprised to learn that many SOE directors held more than one position at a time.

“I was very surprised to receive a report that a director can also be a commissioner at six different companies at the same time,” Erick said on Friday, “It is unethical because everyone will want to be commissioners too.”

He said one example was one of state flag carrier Garuda Indonesia’s directors, whom the SOEs minister had already fired for allegedly using his position to smuggle luxury goods on board an aircraft from France.

The former director in question was also dismissed from his commissioner positions, Erick said.

Erick explained he was unaware that the ministry allowed SOE directors to have that many positions at once. As far as he knew, he said, a director of a state-owned enterprise could only hold up to two commissioner seats at two different companies at the same time.

SOE directors who hold commissioner positions, however, are not allowed to receive a higher salary as commissioners than their salary as directors in their respective SOEs.

If possible, Erick said, their salaries as commissioners should be 30 percent lower than the total salary they currently received.

Erick said he would first review the existing regulations to see whether SOE directors were allowed to sit in multiple commissioner positions. “If there is no [existing regulation], we will make one,” he added as quoted by tempo.co.

Previously, former Garuda Indonesia president director Ari Ashkara was dismissed from his position after he was alleged to have smuggled a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and upmarket Brompton folding bicycles on board a new Airbus A330-900 plane from France.

Four other former directors have also been dismissed from their positions for their alleged involvement in the high-profile smuggling case. The board of commissioners of Garuda Indonesia appointed acting directors to replace the sacked executives. (dpk)

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