Keep state secrets, Akbar warns officials
Keep state secrets, Akbar warns officials
JAKARTA (JP): A veiled warning was conveyed Monday to
officials who failed to maintain state secrets.
At a ceremony for the installation of new officials,
Minister/State Secretary Akbar Tandjung said it was "our joint
responsibility in keeping state secrets".
The leakage of state secrets is clearly prohibited under the
criminal code and other regulations, Akbar said.
The phone tapping scandal has yet to subside, as police have
not announced whether voices on circulated tapes really belong to
President B.J. Habibie and Attorney General A.M. Ghalib.
"Leakage of state secrets, for instance about planned policies
under discussion which are yet to be announced, can provoke
unnecessary controversy among the public," Akbar said.
The police have referred to the criminal code prohibiting the
leakage of state secrets in their investigations, in which
several press representatives have been called as witnesses.
On Monday, chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB) Yusril
Ihza Mahendra was released from his position as special assistant
to the Minister/State Secretary.
Yusril said last month that he has decided to concentrate on
his party.
In line with a new ruling on civil servants, political party
executives must choose between their political activities and
their jobs in the bureaucracy.
Yusril, also speech writer for former president Soeharto, was
replaced by President B.J. Habibie's adviser Sofian Effendi in a
brief ceremony at the State Secretariat led by Akbar himself.
Akbar also installed as head of the Institute of State
Personnel Administration (BAKN) Ahmad Watik Pratiknya, another
Habibie adviser, who replaced Maj. Gen. (ret) Soenarko. Soenarko
was sworn in as Akbar's assistant for supervision and integrated
policy affairs.
Sofian's previous position as Akbar's assistant for state
affairs and non-departmental state agencies was filled by
economist Prijono Tjiptoherijanto.
According to Government Regulation No. 12/1999, any of the
country's 5.1 million civil servants who join political parties
automatically lose their positions in the bureaucracy. However,
they are entitled to compensation equal to their basic salary for
one year.
The decree also stipulates that civil servants must obtain
permission from their superiors if they wish to relinquish their
state duties.
Apart from his position as Akbar's assistant, Yusril is also
professor at the School of Law in the University of Indonesia
(UI).
Chairman of National Mandate Party (PAN) Amien Rais decided to
abandon his position as political science professor at Gajah Mada
University in Yogyakarta.
Faisal Basri, PAN's secretary-general had also opted to leave
his position as lecturer at UI's School of Economics. (prb)