Human rights minister complains over salary

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Justice and Human Rights Minister Yusril Ihza Mahendra has complained about his monthly salary, saying his basic salary of Rp 19 million does not reflect his workload.

"I feel like I am being exploited (by the state). I am not happy (with this job)," he told reporters during a recent interview.

"I always do my best in this job. You know that I always finish my job on time," said Yusril, claiming he always prioritized his ministerial tasks.

He claimed that he and some high-ranking officials at the justice ministry often had to dig into their own pockets to pay for damage to jails across the country.

"If a brawl occurs in a penitentiary, we are often forced to dig into our pockets to pay the repairmen in advance. The government usually pays it back afterwards."

Yusril, who is also chairman of the Muslim-based Crescent Star Party (PBB), said he was often forced to do a ministerial job while he visited a province, in his capacity as the party chairman.

"I've never used a VIP service if I do my tasks for the party. The party pays for my travel. But, on many occasions, I am forced to visit this or that penitentiary. You see, it's the PBB that pays for the state and not vice versa," he said, claiming that he never used state facilities for his private or party interests.

The government, Yusril said, paid him a basic salary of Rp 19 million, three quarters of which was allocated for social purposes every month.

The government actually provides allowances, including state facilities such as a house in the ministry housing complex in South Jakarta and a Volvo car, as well as VIP services for his state duties.

Yusril, however, said the house embarrassed him, while the car, which he said had sparked public debate, was worth nothing more than Rp 100 million.

"I have a carpet in the ministry house that was installed when Susilo Sudarman became a minister. The carpet is still there while he passed away years ago," he complained, saying that he had never received respected guests like foreign ambassadors at his official residence.

Susilo was a minister during the administration of President Soeharto, who was forced to resign in May 1998.

Commenting on his earnings as a minister, Yusril said: "It's not appropriate. Frankly speaking, I am disappointed. The state has asked too much of me. I have told Finance Minister (Boediono) about it."

Yusril claimed he was not the only minister in the country who complained about the salary as several other fellow ministers also did.

However, he could not name a figure for the salary of a minister.

"I don't know, but it's just not appropriate," said Yusril, adding his salary was far below the monthly salary of government officials appointed as directors of state-owned enterprises.

When asked whether he no longer wanted to be a minister, he replied: "It's not that. It's because most people think that becoming a minister means having a lot of money and getting a lot of facilities."

Yusril also claimed that he was more than willing to become a pro-bono minister, "as long as people do not shower him with negative allegations."

He served as a justice minister for the first time in August 2000 in the Cabinet of former president Abdurrahman "Gus Dur" Wahid, who dismissed him six months later.

Gus Dur's successor, President Megawati Soekarnoputri, reappointed him in August 2001.

The debate over the appropriate salary for Cabinet ministers, and state officials, is not new.

In 2000, backed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Gus Dur's administration proposed to increase officials' salaries three to four times in an attempt to combat corruption.

However, the proposal was rejected due to public criticism.

Early this year, outspoken Minister of National Development Planning Kwik Kian Gie also raised the same issue. He said that the increase of the state officials' salary was mandatory in a bid to eradicate corruption, collusion and nepotism.

Currently, the monthly salary for Cabinet ministers stands at between Rp 15 million to Rp 20 million. In comparison, the salary of a state-owned bank director is about Rp 100 million a month.