Circulating Jokowi's letter appointing Jufri Rahman as South Sulawesi regional secretary, provincial government says

A decree from the President of the Republic of Indonesia, Joko Widodo (Jokowi), has been issued, appointing an expert in regional government and autonomy at the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, Jufri Rahman, as the Regional Secretary of South Sulawesi Province (Selsel Regional Secretary). The South Sulawesi Provincial Government still guarantees the veracity of this information.

The letter appointing Jufri Rahman as the South Sulawesi Regional Secretary is contained in Presidential Decree Number: 97/TPA of 2024 concerning the appointment of middle-ranking officials in the South Sulawesi Provincial Government. Jokowi issued this letter in Jakarta on August 6, 2024.

“We will check it first,” said the head of the District Personnel Agency (BKD), Sulsel Sukarniaty Kondolele. detikSulselFriday (09/08/2024). Sukarniaty responded to the letter that was circulating.

In the excerpt from the letter that is circulating, there are two decision points regarding the appointment of Jufri Rahman as the regional secretary of South Sulawesi. One of them states that this presidential decree will come into effect on the stipulated date.

“Appointed Mr. Drs Jufri Rahman MSi NIP 196609191986031003, Senior Supervisor (IV/e), as Regional Secretary of South Sulawesi Province (Sulsel), effective from his inauguration and he was granted an allowance for a structural position at grade Ib, in accordance with the legal provisions,” reads a decision extracted from the presidential decree.

Jufri Rahman has already participated in the auction of the South Sulawesi regional secretary

It is known that Jufri Rahman participated in the auction selection for the position of South Sulawesi Regional Secretary during the era of South Sulawesi Governor Andi Sudirman Sulaiman (ASS) in 2023. The auction was held following the vacancy of the position of South Sulawesi Regional Secretary after the death of Abdul Hayat Gani, who was dismissed from office by Jokowi based on Presidential Decree Number: 142/TPA of 2022.

His name, Jufri Rahman, was in the top 10 for middle and high management positions. However, recently, Jufri Rahman did not qualify for the first three bids for the position of South Sulawesi Regional Secretary.

The three officials who passed the auction selection for the South Sulawesi Regional Secretary were announced by the Selection Team (Timsel) on March 13, 2023. Timsel even submitted the three names to Jokowi to determine an official who would be appointed.

The names of the officials who surpassed the top three announced by the selection team (Timsel) at the time were Sukarniaty Kondolele (Head of the South Sulawesi Population and Civil Registration Department); Muh Iqbal Suhaeb (Head of the South Sulawesi Housing, Settlement and Land Department); and Andi Taufik (Head of the Center for Training, Development and Government Management Studies, Institute of State Administration).

“The 10 participants described earlier with their respective final scores and rankings have been selected, so for the first, second and third place, they are as follows. Dr. Andi Taufik, Dr. Muhammad Iqbal and Sukarniaty Kondolele,” said the head of the auction team for the position of South Sulawesi Regional Secretary at the time, Professor Murtir Jeddawi, Monday (13/3/2023).

Abdul Hayat Gani appointed as staff member

Later, the three names that were among the top three in the auction were left hanging without the president deciding which one would be appointed. This is because there is a trial regarding the dismissal of Abdul Hayat Gani from the regional secretary of South Sulawesi.

Over time, Abdul Hayat Gani won the lawsuit regarding his dismissal in the first instance, appeal and cassation before the Supreme Court. Abdul Hayat also wrote to Jokowi to restore his position as regional secretary of South Sulawesi, in accordance with the court's decision.

This request is stated in the letter number: 27/AD-KK/P/VII/2024 regarding the request for voluntary implementation of the decision. The letter was signed by Abdul Hayat Gani's lawyer, Syaiful Syahrir, on July 29, 2024.

“Just yesterday, we submitted a request letter to the President for the voluntary implementation of the decision,” Syaiful told detikSulsel, Wednesday (31/7/2024).

However, Abdul Hayat Gani was appointed as the Expert for People's Welfare (Kesra) of the South Sulawesi Regional Secretariat. The inauguration was carried out directly by the Acting Governor of South Sulawesi, Zudan Arif Fakrulloh, at the South Sulawesi Governor's Office, Thursday (1/8).

Abdul Hayat was appointed along with five other officials, namely: Andi Darmawan Bintang (Acting Regional Secretary of South Sulawesi); Jayadi Nas (Head of the South Sulawesi Manpower and Transmigration Bureau); Abdul Malik (Head of the South Sulawesi Social Services); Hasan Sijaya (Head of the South Sulawesi Library and Archives Department); and Since Erna Lemba (South Sulawesi Economics, Development and Finance Expert).

“Yes, a win-win solution. We have to defend this. First, from the center, it was read earlier, approved by the center, yes, we are there,” Abdul Hayat said in response to his inauguration as expert staff on Thursday (1/8).

(sar/hrs)