Indonesia Highlights: Indonesian Rock Star Abdee Slank Appointed As Telkom Commissioner | Indonesia Reissues Controversial AstraZeneca Vaccine Batch | Indonesian Counterterrorist Police Nab 10 Suspect

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – Indonesian President Joko Widodo is courting controversy, after he authorized Minister of State-Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir to name one of his closest allies in the arts as a Commissioner in state-owned telecommunications company Telkom.

The government also put AstraZeneca’s CTMAV 547 Covid-19 vaccine batch back in circulation, less than two weeks after the vaccine consignment was implicated in four deaths.

And Indonesia’s Densus 88 counterterrorist police have arrested 10 suspected terrorists in Papua Province’s Merauke Regency, before the militants can attack houses of worship in the area. This and more on Indonesia Highlights:

KOMPAS.com/TRI SUSANTO SETIAWAN Abdee Slank at a launch for the CD album Asian Games: Energy Of Asia (20/7/2018).

Indonesian Rock Star Abdee Slank Appointed As Telkom Commissioner

Indonesian Minister for State Owned Enterprises Erick Thohir might win kudos for overhauling state-owned companies.

Yet the former Inter Milan boss raised eyebrows when he appointed Abdi Negara Nurdin aka Abdee Negara or Abdee Slank, the lead guitarist of Indonesian rock band Slank, as an Independent Commissioner of state-owned telecommunications company Telkom Indonesia.

Erick slated the 52 year-old into Telkom’s board to serve under former Minister of Research and Technology Bambang Brodjonegoro, who was named Telkom’s President-Director.

Abdee will serve alongside fellow Independent Commissioner Bono Daru Adji, as well as new Telkom Commissioner Isa Rachmatarwata and Arya Sinulingga.

The backlash against the musical outsider came immediately, including from opposition parliamentarian Amin Ak from the opposition Social Justice Party or PKS.

“[Erick Thohir’s] consideration in appointing [Abdee] was more about his contribution to President Jokowi’s successful presidential runs [in 2014 and 2019],” he said.

“It had nothing to do with [Abdee’s] actual competence or fitness for office,” added the House of Representatives member of Commission VI on trade, industry, investment, cooperatives, small and medium businesses and state-owned companies.

Amin noted that Jokowi supporters like Abdee, Fadjroel Rachman, Andi Gani Nena Wea and Ulin Yusron “run counter to the principles of Good Corporate Governance,” he lamented.

“The disregard of these principles caused many Indonesian state run companies to incur financial losses and keep them from making any meaning full progress.”

Trisakti University Public Policy observer Trubus Rahadiansyah is just as scathing, particularly of Abdee’s inexperience. “[Abdee’s] appointment is nothing more than giving away political spoils. He will only hinder his fellow commissioners.”

Abdee and the rest of Slank are known high-profile supporters of Jokowi, since the former Jakarta Governor took Indonesian politics by storm during his 2014 presidential run before winning reelection in 2019.