Minister of Human Rights Sued by Own Staff over Position Transfer

Minister of Human Rights Natalius Pigai has been sued at the Jakarta State Administrative Court (PTUN) by his own employee, Ernie Nurheyanti M. Toelle, regarding a position transfer.

The lawsuit was filed by Ernie after she was reassigned from her position as Secretary of the Directorate General of Services and Compliance for Human Rights (Grade IIA official) to Senior Human Rights Analyst.

The change of position is contained in the Ministry of Human Rights Ministerial Decree Number: MHA-14 KP.04.04 dated 23 January 2026.

This unilateral decision triggered resistance. Through her legal representatives, Deby Astuti Fangidae and Mordentika Sagala, Ernie contends that the position transfer was made through a decision that lacked transparency and objectivity.

“This Ministerial Decree has violated administrative procedures and was issued without going through a transparent and objective decision-making mechanism,” said Ernie’s legal counsel through a written statement on Tuesday (10 March).

Two points in violation of legal provisions

The plaintiff’s representatives revealed two fatal irregularities which they believe render the decree deserving of challenge.

The first reason concerns Minister Pigai’s allegation that Ernie failed to absorb the budget maximally. Legal records show that budget absorption in the unit led by Ernie, the Secretariat General of Services and Compliance for Human Rights, reached 99.56 per cent, far higher than the total absorption rate at the Directorate General of Services and Compliance level, which only reached 92.88 per cent.

Not only that, Ernie’s track record, which reportedly received a “Good” rating in the Employee Performance Assessment, appears to have been completely ignored. Her legal counsel regretted that Ernie’s long service of 31 years at the Ministry of Law and Human Rights and one year at the Ministry of Human Rights were not considered at all in the decision-making process.

The second reason highlights the absence of an appropriate administrative evaluation procedure in accordance with regulations before the transfer was imposed. Instead of using proper official procedures, notification of the new position appointment was only sent via WhatsApp, less than 24 hours before the inauguration ceremony.

“This action disregards official correspondence formalities to force through a decision, demonstrating arbitrariness and disregard for proper bureaucratic ethics,” said the legal counsel.

Internal resolution efforts failed

Meanwhile, internal resolution efforts had actually been attempted. Ernie reportedly submitted three formal letters of objection to the decree, but none received a written response from Pigai.

According to her legal counsel, this is what made Ernie feel that the position transfer process lacked transparency and demonstrated an attempt to conceal legal facts. The transfer was not an ordinary task shift, but rather a veiled demotion practice to obstruct her client’s career advancement.

The legal counsel noted that the Human Rights Minister’s policy actually undermines human rights values themselves.

“Our client regrets the action of the Human Rights Minister that does not align with the principles of human rights, particularly the right to transparent information. This action also undermines the government’s efforts to implement a merit system, where career guarantees should be based on achievement, not objective assessment,” said the legal counsel.

“In response to the arbitrary action taken by the Human Rights Minister, we have filed a lawsuit at the State Administrative Court and hope that the court’s decision can declare the aforementioned decree legally defective,” he added.

Court proceedings continue

Separately confirmed, Ernie affirmed the legal action she is pursuing in court. She stated that the court proceedings are currently ongoing.

“The third hearing is on 16 March. It is still closed,” Ernie told CNNIndonesia.com.

CNNIndonesia.com also contacted Natalius Pigai through a written message, but no response had been obtained by the time this report was published.