Multiple Positions Of Deputy Ministers Hits Ethics And Vulnerable Corruption Practices

JAKARTA Professor of the Faculty of Law UNS, Agus Riewanto assessed that the concurrent positions held by deputy ministers (wamen) in the Red and White Cabinet violated the principles of propriety and ethics even though the practice was not prohibited by the Constitutional Court (MK).

As is known, until now there are at least 25 wamen who concurrently serve as commissioners in various State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN). Call it Dony Oskaria (Wamen BUMN as well as COO BPI Danantara), Fahri Hamzah (Wamen PKP concurrently Commissioner of PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk), and Angga Raka Prabowo (Wamen Komdigi as President Commissioner of PT Telkom Indonesia (Persero) Tbk).

Head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, argued that the concurrent positions of the deputy ministers at KMP rely on the Constitutional Court Decision Number 80/PUU-XVII/2019 which regulates that the ban on concurrent positions only applies to ministers in the cabinet, not to the vice minister.

According to Agus, the Constitutional Court Decision Number 80/PUU-XVII/2019 is not specific that the deputy minister is prohibited from holding concurrent positions. Therefore, in legal rules, everything that is not prohibited is allowed.

"This is a gap. If there is no prohibition, yes, it is interpreted as permissible. The recapitulation of the position, ethically, triggers conflicts of interest, but in the law everything that is not regulated or banned in writing, is considered not prohibited," he said, Sunday, June 22, 2025.

He emphasized that although they did not violate the regulations, the dual positions carried out by the deputy ministers violated the principle of propriety. Therefore, the DPR should have regulated the prohibition of the deputy minister from holding concurrent positions in Law Number 39 of 2008 concerning the Ministry of State or Law Number 19 of 2003 concerning State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN).

"But I doubt that the government and the DPR want to regulate the prohibition of the deputy minister from holding multiple positions. I see that the position of the deputy minister is designed to be more agile in its movement, because the ministers do not have multiple positions," said Agus.

He revealed that President Prabowo Subianto should have realized that giving the deputy minister a concurrent position as a commissioner has the potential to make the deputy minister not work professionally for the ministry. In fact, the duty of a deputy minister is also to take care of and resolve existing problems and organize government in order to achieve the welfare of the people.

Agus added that the concurrent positions of the deputy ministers at KMP violated the general principles of good governance and were vulnerable to corrupt practices. On the other hand, the dual position is also unfair for people affected by the government's budget efficiency policy.

"In the midst of the current conditions regarding employment opportunities, the state should be concerned about evaluating and not becoming wasteful because it pays 1 person from 2 different sources of place. Don't just efficiency in the community, but policy makers practice extravagance," he said.