Commitment to building a clean government is needed from regional heads to prevent corruption in regional civil service offices. Several civil servants have been convicted in corruption cases for following the orders of their superiors in the regional leadership.
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JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Commitment to building a clean government is needed from regional heads to prevent corruption in regional civil service offices. Several civil servants have been convicted in corruption cases for following the orders of their superiors in the regional leadership.
This is evident in several legal cases, including the case against inactive Jambi governor Zumi Zola. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) also indicted several Jambi provincial officials in connection with the case: acting Jambi secretary Erwan Malik, Jambi Division III assistant Saifuddin and acting Jambi Public Works Agency head Arfan.
The corruption case against Nganjuk Regent Taufiqurrahman also indicted other civil servants, including regional agency heads, school principals and the heads of public hospitals.
"It is difficult for the civil servants. If they do not follow their [boss’s] orders, they can be given (sanctions). If they follow [the orders], they will become embroiled (in corruption cases)," KPK chairman Agus Rahardjo said on Wednesday (5/9/2018) at the KPK’s Jakarta headquarters.
The National Civil Service Agency’s (BKN) records show that 2,357 civil servants were convicted for corruption in January 2015-September 2018 but had not been dismissed, so they were still receiving their state salaries. The majority of these convicted civil servants (301) were appointed to BKN Regional Office XII in Pekanbaru, followed by 298 at BKN Regional Office VI in Medan, 292 at BKN Regional Office X in Denpasar and 265 at BKN Regional Office V in Jakarta.
In response, Home Minister Tjahjo Kumolo called on the governors of each region to immediately dismiss those civil servants that had been convicted of corruption. Any further delay in dismissing the convicted civil servants would be maladministration and detrimental to state finances.
BKN chairman Bima Haria Wibisana said that by Wednesday, his office had not received any formal dismissal letters for the civil servants who had been convicted of corruption. However, a number of supervisors had asked him about the procedure for dismissing civil servants.
"I simply explained, the authority to terminate them did not reside with the BKN, but with the civil service supervisors – the governors and the regional heads. They have the power to issue the dismissal letter. We expect it to be processed immediately," said Bima.
Investigation
Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo said he would track down the civil servants in his jurisdiction that were to be dismissed for their corruption conviction. "If it is a corruption conviction, it is clear enough," he said.
Ahmad Syah Harrofie, Assistant I of the Riau governance and public welfare agency, said dozens of civil servants in the provincial administration were now waiting to be dismissed dishonorably for their involvement in corruption. Ahmad acknowledged that several civil servants who had been tried in corruption cases were still active in the Riau provincial administration, but that none of them senior officials.
The dismissals had not proceeded as smoothly as expected, particularly because of earlier doubts over its legal basis. For example, some said that a civil servant could be dismissed if they had been sentenced to 1.5 years in prison.
Law No. 5/2014 on Civil Servants states that civil servants are to be dishonorably dismissed if they had been given a permanent legal decision carrying a 2-year prison sentence. "Now, the legal basis for dismissal is clear. There is no longer any doubt," Ahmad said.
According to Kompas’ notes, the former Riau social service agency head initialed SSA, which is a level II senior administrative post, had been sentenced to 1.5 years in prison for embezzling social assistance funds in 2016. After serving his sentence, SSA resumed a civil service post as a regular staffer in the province’s research and development agency.
Under Riau governor Annas Maamun in 2014, SSA served as the head of the Riau Disaster Management Agency. SSA was also involved in amassing funds to bribe several members of the Riau Legislative Council (DPRD) in deliberating the revised 2014 regional budget and the 2015 regional budget. The case is still an active KPK case. Annas Maamun remains a suspect, while a number of Riau DPRD members have been convicted in the case.
Kukuh Giwangkara, head of discipline at the Jakarta Civil Service Agency, said that none of the active civil servants in the Jakarta administration were corruption convicts. "All [convicted civil servants] were dismissed dishonorably and their civil servant status revoked," he said.
Kukuh said that 16 civil servants in the Jakarta administration were convicted of corruption in 2017 and were dismissed dishonorably. Since then, five civil servants had been dismissed for their involvement in corruption.