Commission VI Of The DPR To The President Director Of Garuda Irfan Setiaputra: Better Kemplang Lessor Than Firing Employees

President Director of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Deputy Chairman of Commission VI Mohammad Haekal asked the President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk to dare to negotiate with the lessor. According to him, the issue of the lessor has been a polemic for a long time within Garuda.

"But at the end of the day, after everything has been tightened, there is only one matter for the lessor. I asked why the lessor was not taken care of, they said, 'Oh, sir, they are strong legally,'" he said in a Hearing Meeting (RDP) with the Commission. VI House of Representatives (DPR) RI at the Parliament Building, Jakarta, Monday, June 21.

According to Haekal, the law is strong if there is no element of corruption. Meanwhile, if there is any element of corruption, it can be canceled. Therefore, the problem that currently must be overcome is facing the lessor.

"If necessary, you request a BPK audit with a specific purpose to help negotiate with the lessor. If the BPK states that there is indeed a state loss there, we will take it. That is our capital to go to court abroad," he explained.

Haekal emphasized that whatever happens, Garuda should not be closed like other state-owned airlines. Because, if Garuda closes the airline business, it will be controlled by one group, namely the Lion Group owned by Rusdi Kirana.

"We want to urge the Minister of SOEs whether this Garuda wants to die, are we sincere, right? Or form a monopoly, previously we handed over Garuda which had a monopoly to others," he said.

Therefore, Haekal said there was no other way out than facing the lessor. According to him, the DPR could help Garuda get out of trouble by providing state capital (PMN). But this cannot be done. The reason is, PMN is not intended to cover past sins.

"There is no way out. Kemplang, kemplang, this is a lessor. Instead of facing employees saying 'we have to fire you', it's better for these lessors to fire the Caucasians who helped with corruption," he said.

On the same occasion, member of the PAN faction's Commission VI, Nasril Bahar, hoped that the President Director of PT Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra, could take the right steps to revive Garuda.

"Ask the President Director to have the courage to fly the red and white. There is no other option, the red and white must fly and Garuda must fly," he said.

Furthermore, Nasril also supports the management of Garuda in solving problems after problems that occurred in the past.

As is known, the national airline PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk is being hit by a huge debt problem. Various efforts were made to save the state-owned airline, starting from issuing an early retirement program to cutting the number of commissioners.

Garuda Indonesia (GIAA) does have a red report card in financial aspects, including the value of debt in 2021 which will reach IDR 70 trillion and can continue to grow along with the sluggish aviation business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In fact, within a month Garuda Indonesia lost 100 million US dollars. This is because the operating costs of this state-owned airline are 150 million US dollars per month, while the revenue only reaches 50 million US dollars.