Former BPK Chair: State Loss Determinations by Multiple Institutions Do Not Conform with the 1945 Constitution
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Former Chair of the Audit Board (BPK) Agung Firman Sampurna has said that the determination of state losses by institutions outside the BPK runs counter to the constitutional design laid out in the 1945 Constitution.
According to Firman, normatively the authority to determine state losses is firmly regulated in Article 10(1) of Law No. 15 of 2006 on the BPK.
‘The provisions of Article 10(1) of Law No. 15 of 2006 have clearly vested the power in the BPK. Therefore, normatively it is already very clear that the authority to determine state losses rests with the BPK as the state audit institution with constitutional footing,’ Firman said during a public hearing (RDPU) with the Legislative Body (Baleg) of the DPR RI on the authority to calculate state losses on Tuesday (19 May 2026).
He noted that this condition could blur the design of the Supreme Audit Institution built into the constitution.
‘If this is allowed to continue, there will be several serious consequences. First, it could blur the design of the Supreme Audit Institution established by the 1945 Constitution, where the BPK is positioned as a free and independent state institution in auditing state finances,’ Firman said.
In addition, Firman warned that a multitiered interpretation of authority also risks weakening the independence of the audit of state finances.
‘This condition risks weakening the principle of independence in auditing state finances because the determination of state losses could still be performed by institutions that are structurally within the executive branch,’ he explained.
Firman also assessed that differing interpretations of authority could trigger legal uncertainty in handling corruption cases, particularly regarding proving the element of state losses.
He noted that there is a consistent line of legal policy from the 1945 Constitution, the State Treasury Law, the BPK Law, the Supreme Court Circular No. 4 of 2016 (SEMA 4/2016), to Constitutional Court decisions No. 25/PUU-XIV/2016 and No. 28/PUU-XXIV/2026.
In the forum, Agung also offered two policy options to harmonise the rules related to calculating state losses. The first option is to make a limited amendment to Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Corruption (Tipikor), specifically Article 32 and its explanatory notes. The second option is to revise in a limited fashion Law No. 15 of 2006 on the BPK by adding a norm that reinforces that the calculation of state losses refers to the BPK’s authority.
For the record, Baleg DPR hosted the RDPU with several legal experts to discuss the authority to calculate state losses following Constitutional Court Decision No. 28/PUU-XXIV/2026. Baleg DPR Chairman Bob Hasan said the discussion was undertaken to avoid misinterpretation regarding which party is authorised to calculate state losses.
‘This is a dispute in my view, and regardless of the angle or perspective, it cannot be a reason for misinterpretation,’ Bob said.