Hopefully Garuda Indonesia Welcomes The Right Sky

JAKARTA - State-Owned Enterprises (BUMN) Minister Erick Thohir dismissed Garuda Indonesia President Director I Gusti Ngurah Askhara Danadiputra or Ari Askhara. The removal was motivated by the findings of Harley Davidson and Brompton bikes by the Directorate General of Customs and Excise. All these illegal items were found on the new Garuda Indonesia aircraft, Airbus A3330-900 Neo.

Institute for Development of Economic and Finance (Indef) economist Nailul Huda saw so many problems in the body of Garuda during Ari Askhara's leadership. Starting from financial reports, his involvement in the cartel case to the Harley Davidson smuggling case which was finally discovered during Erick Thohir's leadership.

Huda said that the oddity was increasingly seen when the Garuda Indonesia workers union was actually happy and grateful for the removal of Ari Askhara. According to Huda, this shows that something is not good.

"Actually, Garuda's previous policies were really strange. In my opinion, this is one of the reasons why Garuda has to be repaired," he said, when contacted by VOI, in Jakarta, Friday, December 6.

Cleaning up Garuda Indonesia

According to Huda, Erick Thohir's mission to improve SOEs when he was a minister was an entry point to fix problems within Garuda. He considered, this problem is like a snowball that is getting bigger and bigger. Huda assessed that Erick Thohir must also restructure Garuda by removing all those involved in the Harley Davidson smuggling case.

"What is certain is removing all the people involved in the Harley Davidson smuggling case. It is impossible for the President Director to play alone. Everyone must be removed, no exception. Including people who want to sacrifice for the President Director because their loyalty is questionable," he explained.

Researcher of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF), Abra El Talattov, said that after the removal of the President Director of Garuda, the Minister of BUMN immediately conducted a selection for the new Garuda CEO and the process was transparent through the Final Assessment Team (TPA). Abra said, with the help of the TPA, it is hoped that the new Garuda Managing Director can bring about radical changes in the body of Garuda in the midst of the enormous challenges the company is facing.

The decision of SOE Minister Erick Tohir to dismiss the Managing Director of Garuda, said Abdra, was proof of his commitment to improving BUMN governance or 'cleaning up'. "In addition, Erick's assertiveness based on an objective assessment of the results of the investigation is a strong signal for other BUMN officials to seriously improve BUMN GCG, because this is no longer a gimmick or lip service to the BUMN Minister," he said.

Abra said, the reason why Erick had to 'clean up' was due to several problems. One of them, Garuda's financial report as of September 2019. He observed that there was a dispute between Garuda and Citilink and Sriwijaya Air Mas, Sriwijaya's receivables were swollen which led to the unilateral dismissal of three Sriwijaya Air directors due to Management Cooperation (KKM).

"On the other hand, Garuda's trade payables also experienced a significant increase reaching 80.7 percent from USD 385 million to USD 696 million. Another thing that needs attention is the high increase in Garuda's trade receivables by 29 percent from US $ 335 million to 435 million. US dollars, mainly due to PT Sriwijaya's receivables amounting to 95 million US dollars or contributing to 21 percent of Garuda's accounts receivable, "he said.

Deduct taxes

Meanwhile, CITA Tax Observer Yustinus Prastowo said luxury goods smugglers such as Harley Davidson can only be done by those with authority. "So far, there may be practices that have been carried out without being caught and there is no action. So it seems to be a common habit. Yes, it could be (taking advantage of the position). Because they have the ability to condition goods like this to be transported. have the authority, "he said.

Yustinus said, the Harley Davidson smuggling case by the President Director of Garuda was based on not wanting to pay taxes. Not only that, difficulty in permits is the main reason for choosing an illegal route. "Because this is a used vehicle, importing used goods is not allowed. Unless obtaining a permit. So the process is indeed complicated, he must apply for a permit to the Ministry of Trade, not yet the tax," he said.

In Indonesia, said Yustinus, Harley Davidson is included in the luxury vehicle category. The tax imposed is not small, even higher than the price of the goods. "BPNBM is subject to 125 percent. It is subject to an entrance fee of 40 percent, BPN 10 percent, and PPH 22 of 10 percent. I made an illustration with a price of Rp. 400 million, the tax could be up to Rp. 900 million. So the tax is more expensive. "They have flaws. Those who pay are those who have no blemishes. As if so," he said.

"In my opinion it has happened a lot. In fact, I heard on public radio that there were many imports of this big motorbike using army aircraft," he continued.

Yustinus said, in order to avoid doing the same thing by state officials and the community, there could be several things that the government had to fix. "What needs to be strengthened in the enforcement with high sanctions, including criminal. It is hoped that it will encourage people to obey, rather than being punished and in a large fine, I would prefer to obey. "he explained.

According to him, Erick Thohir's step to remove the President Director of Garuda is a good start to change the paradigm of thinking of state officials. "It should be an example and serve but it turns out to be bad," he said.