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View all search resultsAnalysis: Manpower Ministry skimming off expats on top of strict laws
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A pedestrian bridge across Jl. Sudirman in Central Jakarta is bathed in pink light in this file photo. (The Jakarta Post/Iqbal Yuwansyah)
I
ndonesia’s tough laws on companies employing foreigners have been further complicated by alleged embezzlement at a unit of the Manpower Ministry which oversees their administration. An ongoing probe into the scandal, however, may not lead to significant changes as the practice has been taking place for more than a decade.
Moving the administrative process online, according to the investigation by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), has only facilitated bureaucrats in charge to skim off more money from expatriates intending to legally work in Indonesia.
The KPK has named eight ministry officials, including a former director general for the placement of foreign workers, as suspects in its investigation for allegedly collecting Rp 53.7 billion (US$3.3 million) in illegal fees in 2019-2024, but it has since learned that the practice dates as far back as 2012, covering three ministers under three different administrations. It remains to be seen whether the investigation will go all the way back and all the way up to the three different ministers. The eight officials are the main beneficiaries of the scheme, but they also distributed the money to lower-ranking officials, including office boys, within the Directorate for the Control of Foreign Workers. The KPK said they also spent some of the money to pay for lunch at the directorate. The entire unit is seen as part of the scheme.
The KPK is also looking into the role of middlemen who provide “professional services” to help expatriates, or their employers navigate through the application process. A KPK official said it also wants to look into the possible complicit role of some of the hiring companies, naming specifically mining companies, in the scheme.
Going by the modus so far found by the KPK, the scheme is a classic example of the prevalent bureaucratic mentality of “Why make it easy, if you can make it difficult?” when providing public services and make yourself some extra money in the process.
Companies intending employ a foreigner must first apply for the Placement of Foreign Workers Plan, known by its Indonesian acronym RPTKA, before the intending expatriate can apply for the work permit, known as ITAS/KITAS. Assuming they meet all the conditions stipulated in the regulations, they may submit their applications online.
According to the KPK investigation, the middlemen would already know the next steps, which would include paying bribes, for the applications to be processed. Most companies would go this way.
