JakartaPost-Mar 6, 2023
In his first public statement on the uproar over the lavish lifestyles of tax officials, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo called on civil servants to lead modest lives and refrain from showing off their wealth, especially on social media. In a speech delivered at the Presidential Palace on Thursday, Jokowi also called on all Cabinet ministers and government agencies to enforce discipline among their ranks and urged the National Police and the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) to investigate possible wrongdoing in how officials had obtained their wealth. “I want us and everyone below us to stress this; don’t show off your power. Don’t show off your wealth, especially by posting on Instagram and other social media platforms. For members of the bureaucracy, this is really inappropriate,” he told a national coordination meeting. In his speech, Jokowi acknowledged the public’s anger toward the extravagance of civil servants, as well as toward police and Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel, who face criticism for being arrogant and insensitive. “I can sense there’s massive disappointment and the people are right about this. The service is subpar, while officials are arrogant,” he said. The President’s remarks were his first comments on the public relations crisis currently engulfing the Finance Ministry, which emerged after an assault case in South Jakarta opened up a Pandora’s box of irregularities involving the behavior of officials from the Directorate General for Taxation. Increased scrutiny of wealthy officials came after Mario Dandy Satrio, the son of tax office worker Rafael Alun Trisambodo, was arrested last week after allegedly assaulting a minor. Photos and videos of Mario’s extravagant lifestyle, and his father’s Rp 56 billion (US$3.6 million) in reported wealth, came to light in the following days, raising questions about where the money had come from. The Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), which investigated Rafael from 2015 to 2018, recently launched another probe into his wealth. Read more at: https://www.thejakartapost.com/indonesia/2023/03/06/dont-flaunt-your-wealth-on-social-media-jokowi-tells-govt-officials.html.
