SOEs continue to improve good corporate governance: Minister
Jakarta, Indonesianpost.com – State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir affirmed that improvement in SOEs’ good corporate governance (GCG) continues to run as part of the efforts to implement the SOEs’ core values, namely AKHLAK.
State companies in Indonesia are united with the uniform core values of being trustful, competent, harmonious, loyal, adaptive, and collaborative that are summarized in AKHLAK.
“There were many issues in SOEs before I serve as a minister. However, we will continue to carry out improvement for good corporate governance,” Thohir stated at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday.
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The minister made the statement in response to the Corruption Eradication Commission’s (KPK’s) naming of former president director of PT Pertamina Karen Agustiawan as suspect in the alleged corruption case in the procurement of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the 2011-2021 period.
After being appointed as SOEs minister by President Joko Widodo, Thohir said he immediately implemented the SOEs clean-up program as an effort to transform state companies.
He noted that the SOEs clean-up program was carried out by applying the AKHLAK values in line with the implementation of GCG.
Karen Agustiawan (KA), who served as president director at the state-run oil company PT Pertamina for the 2009-2014 period, was named a suspect by the KPK in alleged corruption in LNG procurement on Tuesday.
The KPK suspected that KA’s actions caused and resulted in state financial losses amounting to US$140 million, or around Rp2.1 trillion.
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Furthermore, Thohir guaranteed that SOEs would be more transparent with a healthier structure.
In addition, he ensured that Pertamina will be more open in running its business.
“Now, Pertamina has holding and subholdings. It is more transparent now. That is why we encourage openness,” he remarked.
The minister also emphasized that his side does not do business with the people, but rather, supports national economic growth that can reach around five percent and reduces the level of economic inequality between communities.
“Our presence is based on those points. We also want to act as an ecosystem to build the national economy with the private sector and foreign investment but mostly to support our domestic micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs),” he stated.