Indonesia - September 2025

The Constitutional Court ruled that laws against ministers holding multiple, concurrent positions at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) also apply to deputy ministers. Thirty-one of the 55 deputy ministers in President Prabowo’s government hold a second office in or overseeing an SOE. The ruling was welcomed for strengthening public administration by lessening direct political involvement in SOEs and reducing the opportunities for corruption or abuse of state resources. However, constitutional law experts say new legislation is needed to prevent deputy ministers from holding second jobs of any kind. The Court’s ruling also provided a two-year grace period to replace all deputy ministers serving in SOEs, but legal experts criticized the government for continuing to appoint deputy ministers to positions at SOEs after the ruling was issued as violating it in spirit. The government denied these charges and said it was in the process of restructuring SOEs in line with the court ruling.

Sources: Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta Post (1), Jakarta Post (2)

The Supreme Court on 15 September overturned an appeals court ruling and reinstated the corruption convictions of three palm oil firms, including the Singapore-based multinational firm, Wilmar International. The Court found the companies had engaged in corrupt practices and violated a palm oil export ban in 2022, costing the state IDR 18 trillion (USD 1.07 billion). The Court ordered each company to pay a fine of IDR 1 billion (USD 60,000) and additional restitution to the state between IDR 900 billion to 11 trillion (USD 54 million to 650 million). The three companies in question are also alleged to have bribed the appeals court judges who overturned the initial conviction. Those judges were arrested in April 2025, and their trial is ongoing. Indonesia produces most of the world’s palm oil and the case is a test of the government’s ability to strengthen oversight over and better regulate the sector.

Sources: Jakarta Post, Nikkei Asia, International IDEA, Supreme Court of the Republic of Indonesia