According to a document filed with the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) on Thursday, Ari had sent his letter of resignation to the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Ministry on Wednesday, vacating his position as vice president commissioner at the bank.

The document marks the end of Ari’s 17-month role at the bank after his appointment was confirmed in the bank’s annual general shareholders meeting in February last year.

Ari’s double-jobbing came under scrutiny following a recent change in a UI statute that was widely perceived as accommodating his dual role. The statute, which was outlined in Government Regulation (PP) No. 75/2021, bars the UI rector, deputy rectors, university secretary and heads of institutions from holding positions on the boards of directors of state-owned or private companies, as well as other institutions and affiliations, to avoid conflicts of interest.

The restrictions in the new statute, which entered into force on July 2, are more relaxed than the previous version of the statute, which was outlined in PP No. 68/2013. The 2013 regulation explicitly barred the university’s rector and deputy rector from holding any position in state-owned or private companies, among other institutions and affiliations, during their tenure at the university.

The revised stipulation meant that Ari could keep his role as a member of BRI's board of commissioners while still serving as UI rector.

Ari also recently drew criticism following his decision to summon members of the UI’s student body after the latter posted a series of tweets on Twitter that criticized President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, in a move that was seen as stifling government critics.

Read also: Critics slam UI 'repressive' move against student body's criticism of Jokowi

Ari did not respond to The Jakarta Post’s request for comments for the story.

Ari is a professor of economy at UI and served as a dean of the university’s school of economics between 2013 and 2019, before UI’s board of trustees appointed him as the university’s rector, a position which he holds to this day.

Prior to his role at BRI, Ari also held an independent commissioner position at state-owned lender Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) between 2017 and 2020. Indonesian Ombudsman member Yeka Hendra Fatika said Ari’s role at BNI was a violation of the 2013 regulation on the UI statute, but added that the statute lacked clear measures to punish such violations.

Yeka said he did not immediately see a correlation between Ari’s role at BNI and BRI with his position at UI that could be seen as a conflict of interest, but added that the amendment of the UI statute had closed the door for the Ombudsman to probe into potential maladministration.

With Ari’s resignation from BRI already confirmed, Yeka said it was now up to the university’s board of trustees to determine whether any ethical violations had been committed by the rector.

“Whether Ari violated any ethics or not, that is for UI’s internal bodies such as its board of trustees or the university’s [academic] senate to decide,” Yeka said.

UI’s board of trustees had received a copy of the new statute but had yet to issue any official response to the changes made in the regulation, Ahmad Naufal Hilmy, a student representative at the board Ahmad Naufal Hilmy, said on Wednesday.

Saleh Husin, the board of trustees' chairman, did not respond to the Post’s request for comment on Thursday.

Higher education director general at the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry, Nizam, said that UI was already seeking to update its statute in 2019, and only started discussing the matter with the ministry from sometime in 2020 until May 10.

“If anyone wants to provide input on UI’s statutes, they should do so through the university's internal bodies. The ministry will discuss the input based on prevailing regulations as universities are independent entities,” Nizam told the Post on Wednesday.

Ari’s case was one among hundreds of dual roles identified by the Ombudsman at state-owned companies. The Ombudsman published a study last year that revealed as many as 397 commissioners in state-owned firms and 167 commissioners in subsidiaries of state-owned firms held other positions in the military, police and even political parties, or maintained their affiliation with other organizations.

[Read also: Critics demand stricter conflict-of-interest rules for public officials

Yeka said the President should issue a presidential regulation (Perpres) to regulate the appointment of state-owned enterprises’ commissioners to prevent conflicts of interest.

Popular

UN says initial findings show roadside blast killed Indonesian peacekeepers

Indonesia approves 580 million tonne coal production plan, signals output boost

Prabowo pledges 100 GW solar energy target within three years