Legal Literacy - The Constitutional Court (MK) officially made a decision regarding the lawsuit filed by advocate Viktor Santoso Tandiasa on Thursday (28/8/2025). Through decision number 128/PUU-XXIII/2025, the Constitutional Court reaffirmed the prohibition for deputy ministers (wamen) to hold concurrent positions, both as commissioners and directors in state-owned enterprises (BUMN) and private companies. This decision is not just a legal note, but a strong reminder that the constitution requires public officials to walk straight and free from conflicts of interest. The legal basis for this decision is actually solid. The Court has affirmed a similar prohibition through decision number 80/PUU-XVII/2019. At that time, the Court assessed that all prohibitions on concurrent positions for ministers in Article 23 of the State Ministry Law automatically apply to deputy ministers. Juridically, the legal considerations from the previous decision already have binding force because they are an inseparable part of the final Constitutional Court decision. The Constitutional Court considers the applicant's argument to be in line with the spirit of the State Ministry Law. In its verdict, the Constitutional Court stated that Article 23 of the Law is contrary to the 1945 Constitution unless it is interpreted that the prohibition on concurrent positions applies to ministers and deputy ministers. The article reads:
“Ministers are prohibited from holding concurrent positions as: a) other state officials; b) commissioners or directors in state-owned or private companies; or c) leaders of organizations financed by the state budget/regional budget.”

Workload and Conflict of Interest

There are several fundamental reasons behind this decision. First, the workload of a deputy minister is very heavy and demands full focus. This position was formed to handle specific ministry affairs that require detailed attention and cannot be combined with other jobs, especially strategic positions such as commissioners. Second, and most crucially, this prohibition aims to prevent conflicts of interest and create a clean government. The practice of holding concurrent positions in state-owned enterprises is very prone to making a deputy minister more biased towards corporate interests than public interests. By reaffirming this prohibition, the Constitutional Court seeks to build a preventive fortress so that government governance runs transparently, accountably, and free from abuse of authority.

Scale of the Problem: Map of Deputy Ministers' Concurrent Positions

After the decision, the true scale of this practice was revealed. There are at least 33 deputy ministers who hold concurrent positions. If mapped, it is clear that there is a concentration of positions in several strategic state-owned enterprises: