KPK Calls System Improvement At The Ministry Of Manpower Not Completed, TKA Extortion Case Is Evidence

The Jakarta Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) building (kemnaker.go.id)

The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) said that the practice of extortion related to foreign labor permits (TKA) at the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) proved that system improvement had not been carried out thoroughly.

This was conveyed by the KPK spokesman Budi Prasetyo who said that a study related to the management of his TKA work permit had been carried out in 2012. The results were then submitted to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, which used to be named the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration.

"The KPK has given a number of recommendations to the Ministry of Manpower," Budi said in a written statement quoted on Monday, June 16.

Budi detailed that the recommendation asks the Ministry of Manpower to close discretion spaces that open transactional spaces, build one-stop service service systems, optimize internal surveillance so that closed meetings do not occur without documentation or public control mechanisms, to strengthen information technology systems to support transparency and efficiency of IMTA services.

However, the recommendation is considered not comprehensive. The gaps and patterns have re-emerged in the mode of alleged corruption in the management of foreign workers that we are currently investigating," said Budi.

Budi agrees that the application for permits for foreign workers is currently based online. However, extortion is still found in the process of making the permit, including through a direct meeting between officers and applicants, or communication via private messages," he said.

This condition makes the KPK will conduct further studies. This step is taken so that comprehensive corruption prevention can occur at the Ministry of Manpower.

Karena praktik dan modus ini terus berulang, KPK menilai bahwa implementasi rekomendasi tersebut belum berjalan optimal atau hanya bersifat partial. Untuk itu, pasca penindakan, KPK akan melakukan mitigasi risiko terkait hal ini secara berlas melalui perbaikan pencegahan korupsi di Kemnaker maupun melakukan kajian lanjutan secara komprehensif, ungkap Budi.

The anti-corruption commission has currently named eight suspects in the extortion case for the processing of foreign workers' permits (TKA) at the Ministry of Manpower (Kemnaker) for the 2019-2024 period.

Two of them were Suhartono and Haryanto who had served as Director General of Manpower Placement and Expansion of Job Opportunities (Binapenta and PKK) of the Ministry of Manpower. They are suspected of having participated in the flow of extortion money from foreign workers whose value reached Rp53.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the other suspect is Wisnu Pramono as Director of PPTKA of the Ministry of Manpower; Devi Anggraeni as Coordinator of the PPTKA Feasibility Test for the period 2020-July 2024 then became Director of PPTKA for the period 2024-2025; Gatot Widiartono as Coordinator of Analysis and Control of Foreign Workers The Directorate of Control of the Use of Foreign Workers of the Ministry of Manpower; and Putri Citra Wahyoe, Jamal Shodiqin, and Alfa Eshad who are staff at the Directorate General of Binapenta and PPK.

This case began when the order to extort the applicant was conveyed by Suhartono and Haryanto as former Director General of Binapenta and PKK of the Ministry of Manpower as well as two former Directors of PPTKA of the Ministry of Manpower Wisnu Pramono and Devi Angraeni. This request was later executed by Putri Citra Wahyoe, Jamal Shodiqin, and Alfa Eshad as verifiers.

The KPK called the mode by prioritizing foreign workers agents who gave money to take care of the Foreign Workers Use Plan (RPTKA) file. Meanwhile, those who did not give money were held back by the application were not even processed.