JAKARTA, thekabarnews.com—The former deputy law minister Denny Indrayana has questioned former General Elections Commission (KPU) chairman Hasyim Asy’ari’s appointment as an independent commissioner at plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara I (PTPN I), citing concerns about ethics and post-public-service appointments.

Denny raised the issue during a public discussion in Cikini, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, Sept. 30. PTPN I’s published profile lists Hasyim as an independent commissioner from June 30, 2026, approximately two years after an ethics council removed him from the KPU.

“Now he is at ease. Why is he at ease? Three months ago, he became an independent commissioner, although he was dismissed as KPU chairman over an ethical misconduct case,” Denny said.

Denny alleged that the appointment could represent a reward for Hasyim’s role in decisions connected to Gibran Rakabuming Raka’s 2024 vice-presidential candidacy. However, he provided no publicly available documentary evidence linking the PTPN I appointment to those election decisions.

Denny highlighted Hasyim’s signing of KPU Regulation No. 19/2023 on Oct. 9, 2023. Article 18(3) exempts candidates educated abroad from submitting proof of senior-high-school graduation when they possess proof of higher education.

Denny, who is among the petitioners in an ongoing Constitutional Court (MK) case concerning Gibran’s education requirement, argues that the provision eased Gibran’s registration. That interpretation remains contested and has not become a judicial finding.

During an Oct. 1 court hearing, Hasyim rejected claims that the KPU designed the provision to benefit a particular candidate.

“There was no intention, consideration or motive whatsoever to help someone qualify or make the process easier for anyone,” Hasyim said, according to the MK.

Hasyim testified that the Education and Culture Ministry proposed the exemption because candidates who studied abroad often requested equivalency certificates. He also said the KPU began planning the regulation in May 2023, months before candidate registration.

The KPU officially adopted Regulation No. 19/2023 on Oct. 9 and promulgated it four days later, according to the KPU official.

The Election Organizer Ethics Council (DKPP) permanently dismissed Hasyim as KPU chairman and member on July 3, 2024. In Decision No. 90-PKE-DKPP/V/2024, the council found that he had violated the election organizers’ code of ethics in a case involving a female overseas election committee member.

That decision did not concern Gibran’s candidacy or PTPN I. President Joko Widodo later formalized Hasyim’s dishonorable dismissal through Presidential Decree No. 73/P/2024.

Denny argued that Indonesia should impose a cooling-off period before former officials from independent institutions accept certain appointments.

“KPU and KPK members should face a three- or five-year grace period before they can accept positions like this,” he said.

Indonesia does not have a single, comprehensive conflict-of-interest law governing every former state official. However, the government issued Ministerial Regulation No. 17/2024 on managing conflicts of interest in the public sector. The regulation includes risk identification and waiting-period mechanisms, according to the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry.

Denny’s remarks have renewed questions about transparency in state-company appointments. They do not, however, establish that Hasyim’s appointment violated any law or resulted from a political reward.