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View all search resultsAnalysis: Constitutional Court ends deputy ministers’ moonlighting
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Nine justices of the Constitutional Court during a hearing session at the courtroom. (JP/Seto Wardhana)
T
he controversy over double jobs for deputy ministers should now end after the Constitutional Court prohibited them from serving as commissioners in state-owned enterprises (SOEs), reinforcing its previous ruling that barred ministers and other high-ranking officials from holding such positions.
In its much-anticipated decision announced on Aug. 28, the nine-strong panel of justices reasoned that holding dual roles creates a risk of conflicts of interest, weakens SOE governance and detracts from officials' primary ministerial duties. This decision also upholds the principles of legal certainty and equality before the law.
The court’s ruling clarifies that the term "minister" in Article 23 of Law No. 39/2008 on state ministries also applies to deputy ministers. This is not the first time the court has addressed this issue; Constitutional Court Decision No. 80/2019 had already established that deputy ministers are subject to the same restrictions as ministers, given their similar roles and responsibilities.
Despite this, some presidential officials had previously argued that the 2019 ruling did not explicitly prohibit deputy ministers from holding dual roles and that the ban only applied to cabinet members. A senior government official also explained that the Prabowo administration planned to appoint deputy ministers as ex officio commissioners to ensure closer oversight of SOEs. The court’s latest decision, however, firmly states that all restrictions on ministers are also binding on deputy ministers.
The ruling directly affects at least 30 deputy ministers who currently hold concurrent positions in SOEs. For example, Deputy Disadvantaged Regions and Transmigration Minister Ahmad Riza Patria is a commissioner at PT Telkomsel, while Deputy Environment Minister Diaz Faisal Malik Hendropriyono serves as the state telco company’s president commissioner. Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti Widya Putri is also the president commissioner of state property company Sarinah.
The potential conflict of interests cannot be understated further due to the fact that many of these deputy ministers are also active politicians from member parties of the ruling coalition, such as Riza (Gerindra), Diaz (Justice and Unity Party) and Dyah (Golkar Party).
Critics have claimed the corporate jobs simply serve as a reward from President Prabowo to the deputy ministers, who most likely lack the competence to supervise the SOEs, for their support for him in the 2024 election. The commissioner posts will also maintain loyalty to Prabowo.
