Fired September 30, KPK Inactive Employee: We Don't Cry If The President Doesn't Take Action

President Jokowi/ANTARA HO BPMI Setpres

JAKARTA - A non-active employee of the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), Hotman Tambunan, is still convinced that President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) will take a stand regarding the polemic of the National Insight Test Assessment (TWK) even though their dismissal is only days away.

This dismissal occurred because Hotman along with 56 other employees were declared not to have passed the TWK as a condition of being transferred to the State Civil Apparatus (ASN). They will be fired on September 30, the day after.

"Currently, we are still in a position to hope for the President's decision, even though we are not forcing the president," said Hotman when contacted by reporters, Tuesday, September 28.

However, the employees admitted that they were ready to take legal steps and put their hope in the judge who tried if President Jokowi continued to waste his body in this matter.

"For example, if the President doesn't act, then we don't have to cry about it. At least (we, ed) take legal steps, the next hope is only for the judges," he said.

Meanwhile, ahead of his dismissal, Hotman said the employees were taking care of various administrative matters. He also admitted that the KPK leaders did not open any communication to dozens of their employees who would soon be expelled.

"Currently we are in the process of resolving all administrative matters related to the termination of our employment," said Hotman.

"With the leadership there is no more communication and we just follow the leadership's decision first," he added.

It was previously reported that 57 KPK employees were dismissed because they did not qualify as ASN according to the mandate of the KPK Law Number 19 of 2019. The employees included senior KPK investigators Novel Baswedan and Ambarita Damanik, Chairman of the KPK Employee Forum Yudi Purnomo, KPK investigator Harun Al-Rasyid, and dozens of other names.

The KPK argues that their inability to become ASN is not because of laws and regulations such as the KPK Perkom Number 1 of 2021 but because of the results of their TWK assessment.

Not only that, the KPK also ensures that employees have been given the same opportunity even though they have passed the age limit or have stopped being ASN.

However, the decision caused a polemic given the discovery of a number of maladministration and abuse of authority in the TWK process by the Indonesian Ombudsman. Not only that, Komnas HAM also found violations of 11 employees' rights.

This later became a polemic because the KPK and the State Civil Service Agency (BKN) did not want to follow up on corrective actions or recommendations issued by the Indonesian Ombudsman and Komnas HAM, respectively.

In addition, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has also remained silent on the recommendations given by the two institutions and argued that he did not want to be withdrawn in institutional matters.