Menpan RB Asks For Sanctions For ASN Recipients Of Social Assistance To Be Review

Menpan-RB Tjahjo Kumolo/ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (Menpan RB) Tjahjo Kumolo asked for sanctions or punishments for state civil servants (ASN) who receive social assistance (bansos) from the Ministry of Social Affairs.

Tjahjo said there needs to be a deeper examination whether the ASN is deliberately cheating to get social assistance.

"Regarding the sanctions or punishments given, it is necessary to first examine whether the ASN employee intentionally committed fraud or abuse of authority in determining or including himself as a recipient of social assistance or not," said Tjahjo in a written statement quoted by Antara, Thursday, November 18th.

In addition, he continued, there needs to be a review related to updating the data on social assistance recipients, so that people who receive assistance really have the right.

"It is also necessary to conduct a study first regarding the process of determining the data on recipients of social assistance by the regional government or other related parties, so that validation and verification of social assistance recipients can be carried out who are entitled," he said. Non-Cash states that the recipients of the social assistance are people who cannot afford or are vulnerable to social risks.

"Based on Presidential Decree Number 63 of 2017 concerning the Distribution of Non-Cash Social Assistance, it is stated that the recipient of Social Assistance is a person, family, group or community that is poor, incapable, and/or vulnerable to social risks," he explained.

Previously, Minister of Social Affairs Tri Rismaharini in a press conference revealed that tens of thousands of ASN were suspected of receiving the Family Hope Program (PKH) social assistance and Non-Cash Food Assistance.

"So, after we submitted the data to the BKN (State Civil Service Agency), the data indicated that there were 31,624 civil servants (PNS)," said Risma.

From the data, it was recorded that 28,965 people were active civil servants and the rest were retirees. Risma said that ASN did not have the right to receive social assistance because it did not meet the Ministry of Social's criteria, namely having a permanent job.

"There are all kinds of things, some were poor, some became civil servants. We are continuously improving, we rely heavily on the regional (government)," said Risma.