Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) has said that the transfer of civil\nservants (ASN) within the Ministry of Public Works (PU) deserves serious\nattention. ICW suspects the policy is connected to the leak of a\ndocument detailing Public Works Minister Dody Hanggodo\u2019s official travel\nplans to the United States, which circulated on social media and drew\npublic scrutiny after it listed the minister\u2019s wife and child among the\ntravelling party.<\/p>\n
ICW Public Education Division Coordinator Nisa Zonzoa said that\ntransfers do fall within a minister\u2019s authority. However, their\nimplementation must still be grounded in the merit system,\norganisational needs, and objective reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe transfer of ASN within the Ministry of PU is reasonably\nsuspected of being connected to the leak of the document on Public Works\nMinister Dody Hanggodo\u2019s official travel plans to the United States that\ncirculated on social media, in which his wife and child took part in the\ntrip,\u201d Nisa said in a statement received by Media Indonesia on Sunday\n(19\/7).<\/p>\n
She stressed that the authority to transfer staff must not be\nexercised arbitrarily, particularly when it is carried out after\nallegations of violations have surfaced.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, transferring ASN is indeed a minister\u2019s\nprerogative, but it must be based on the merit system, institutional\nneeds, and objective reasons. When transfers are carried out after\nalleged violations come to light, there is reason to suspect an attempt\nat silencing and an abuse of authority,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
According to Nisa, the government must ensure that all transfer\nprocesses are conducted transparently so as not to create the perception\nthat the policy is a form of retaliation against civil servants who\nexposed alleged irregularities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government needs to ensure the transfer process is carried out\ntransparently so that it does not give rise to the perception of\nretaliation against ASN who revealed suspected irregularities,\u201d she\nsaid.<\/p>\n
ICW also emphasised the importance of protecting whistleblowers\nwithin the bureaucracy. According to Nisa, such protection is an\nessential prerequisite for creating accountable and accountable\ngovernance with integrity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhistleblower protection is a vital prerequisite for realising a\nbureaucracy that is accountable and has integrity. Without adequate\nprotection, civil servants will be reluctant to report suspected\nviolations for fear of the impact on their careers or other pressures,\u201d\nshe said.<\/p>\n
She warned that if civil servants feel that reporting poses a risk to\ntheir careers, then corruption, abuse of authority, and conflicts of\ninterest will become increasingly difficult to uncover.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf ASN feel that reporting actually endangers their careers, then\nthe potential for corruption, abuse of authority, and conflicts of\ninterest will become ever harder to expose. In the long run, this\nsituation can weaken the culture of integrity within the bureaucracy,\u201d\nNisa said.<\/p>\n
For this reason, ICW is urging the Ministry of Administrative and\nBureaucratic Reform (KemenPAN-RB) and the State Civil Service Agency\n(BKN) to monitor the transfer process.<\/p>\n
\u201cKemenPAN-RB and BKN need to ensure the transfer process remains\nguided by the merit system, evaluate whether there are indications of\nretaliation against whistleblowers, and strengthen whistleblower\nprotection mechanisms within the ASN,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, Nisa stressed that strengthening bureaucratic integrity\nis achieved not only through enforcement against corrupt actors, but\nalso by protecting civil servants who have the courage to expose\nsuspected irregularities.<\/p>\n
\u201cBureaucratic integrity is built not only by punishing perpetrators\nof corruption, but also by protecting ASN who dare to report suspected\nirregularities,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
On that occasion, ICW also criticised Public Works Minister Dody\nHanggodo\u2019s response to the controversy.<\/p>\n
\u201cPublic Works Minister Dody Hanggodo should stop making arrogant\nstatements, as they ultimately give the impression of being defensive\nand acting arbitrarily,\u201d she concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/icw-suspects-pu-ministry-asn-transfers-linked-to-dody-document-leak-urges-bkn-intervention-1784454641", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }