JAKARTA - The Chancellor of the University of Indonesia (UI) Ari Kuncoro is in the spotlight for concurrently serving as a commissioner of BUMN. This polemic became even more so when the government changed the rules that made room for Ari to perpetuate his dual position. Who is Ari who is called the important actor behind the Omnibus Law of the Job Creation Law?
Ari's position from the start was in conflict with Article 35 letter c of Government Regulation (PP) Number 68 of 2013 concerning the UI Statute, which reads:
(The Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor are prohibited from concurrently serving as) officials in state/regional or private-owned enterprises.
Another problem arose after the government revised Government Regulation (PP) Number 68 of 2013 concerning the UI Statute by issuing PP Number 75 of 2021. Article 39 letter c of PP 75/2021 states that concurrent positions in BUMN/BUMN are only prohibited for directors.
“(The Chancellor and Vice Chancellor, university secretaries, and heads of agencies are prohibited from concurrently serving as) directors of state/regional or private-owned enterprises.”
With this change, the Chancellor of UI can hold concurrent positions in other positions because it is not mentioned in the article. The public is wondering about Ari's power, which can even change the rules that have been in place for a long time.
The Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI) plans to write to President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on the issue of concurrent positions in Government Regulation Number 75 of 2021 concerning the UI Statute. JPPI National Coordinator Ubaid Matraji stated that the correct reference is a rule that has not been revised.
Ubaid added that it was the UI Chancellor who had to resign because he had violated the rules. "The old statute is correct," said Ubaid.
Who really is Ari Kuncoro?
Ari Kuncoro's Career
Citing the official UI website, Ari Kuncoro has served as UI Chancellor since 2019. His term will end in 2024.
Ari was elected Chancellor after getting 16 votes in an election involving members of the UI Board of Trustees (MWA UI). Prior to serving as rector, Ari Kuncoro was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB) UI for the 2013-2017 period.
In the 2017-2019 period, Ari was re-elected as the Dean of FEB UI. The man who was born in Jakarta, January 28, 1962, has also worked at the Institute for Economic and Community Research (LPEM UI) in 1986 as a research assistant.
Another position that Ari has held is assistant dean of the academic section of the UI Faculty of Economics in 1998. In addition, he has also been a secretary at the post-graduate program at the UI Faculty of Economics in 1996.
Ari Kuncoro Pendidikan Education
Ari Kuncoro studied at UI and graduated from the UI Faculty of Economics in 1986. The concentration chosen by Ari during his studies was in the field of monetary economics.
Ari Kuncoro's thesis title is Prospect of Deficit Financing in Indonesia: A Simulation Study Using Macro Econometric Model. After graduating from S-1, Ari Kuncoro continued his master's education in 1990 with a concentration in Development Economics at the University of Minnesota, United States (US).
Ari then completed his doctorate in economics at Brown University in 1994. The concentration taken is increasingly focused on Urban Economics, Industrial Organization and Applied Micro Econometrics.
Ari Kuncoro Organisasi Organization
Apart from serving as Chancellor of UI, Ari is also active in a number of organizations. One of them is Ari is included in the composition of the Board of Commissioners of Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI).
Ari was appointed at the Extraordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of BNI on November 2, 2017. After that, he was appointed as Deputy President Commissioner of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI).
Ari's election was based on the results of the BRI Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGMS) since February 18, 2020. That position is the problem with Arie Kuncoro's concurrent position today.
Are you the actor behind Omnibus Law?
The Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI) assessed that the UI Statute was amended to protect Ari Kuncoro. YLBHI called Ari an important actor who smoothed the Omnibus Law on the Job Creation Act.
"It is clear that the direction is here and we are not surprised. Ari Kuncoro is an important actor in smoothing the omnibus law agenda (the Job Creation Law)," YLBHI Chair Asfinawati told reporters, Tuesday, July 20.
He said Ari is one of the Omnibus Law Task Forces on the Job Creation Law. His role, continued Asfinawati, is to control the discussion of the law within the UI.
Furthermore, Asfinawati assessed that even though the UI Statute was changed, the rules would not apply retroactively. Thus, the change in fact further confirms the concurrent breach of office that has been committed.
"What should be noted is that the rules are not retroactive. Because Ari Kuncoro was elected with the old PP, this new PP actually confirms his mistakes," he said.
Not only that, this change is proof that the government has interfered with campus independence. "This is proof that 35 percent of the government's votes have interfered with campus independence," Asfinawati said.
*Read other information about COVID-19 or other interesting articles from Putri Ainur Islam.
Other BERNASThe English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
