Caesar Akbar, Jakarta – Senior economist Faisal Basri in a virtual event on Tuesday said one of the main problems within the State Official circle is conflict of interest. He said there are people in the government ranks with roles as business people in the private sector.

"Now is the lowest point. Can you imagine, this has never happened throughout Indonesia's history, where a Deputy Minister is also the deputy chairperson of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin). This nation is going insane. Conflict of interest is extremely blurred," said Basri on December 21.

He refers to State-owned Enterprises Deputy Minister Kartika Wirjoatmodjo who also holds the active position as Kadin deputy.

Another example he mentioned is the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) chairperson Bambang Soesatyo who also has an active role in the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

"Another example is BKPM Minister's expert staff Eka Sastra who has ample companies and Kadin deputy. These are really just frightening. This is the root of the conflict of interest," Faisal Basri asserted.

The problem related to conflict of interest within government ranks first emerged after Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investments Luhut Pandjaitan along with SOEs Minister Erick Thohir were incriminated in the PCR business fiasco.

The government officials allegedly having business connections on how the PCR testing is run is elaborated in Tempo Magazine's November 1-7 edition.

"They make the rules and they are the service providers under those rules. This is definitely not a good example," said Faisal Basri.

Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/1541961/economic-expert-slams-conflict-of-interest-within-government-rank