SOEs Minister Erick Thohir Pledges Complete Transformation of Garuda Indonesia

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir in a press conference on Tuesday asserted the government will continue to focus on transforming flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia into an accountable, professional, and transparent firm. 

The Minister held the conference after reporting the carrier to Jakarta’s Attorney General’s Office (AGO) on a suspected corruption case. 

“This is more than just arresting or punishing the perpetrators but more about introducing general administrative improvements in the SOEs Ministry,” said Erick Thohir.

In his AGO report, Erick conveyed the government's plan to restructure to save Garuda Indonesia as well as provide evidence regarding the procurement of ATR 72-600 aircraft. He revealed there are indications of corruption with different brands related to the aircraft procurement process to the lessor who is now wrapped up in Garuda.

"We submitted the investigative audit evidence, so they are not accusations, because in our era we are no longer accusing each other, but facts must be given," said Erick. Attorney General Sanitiar Burhanuddin expressed his support for Erick Thohir's efforts to transform Garuda Indonesia. 

Garuda Indonesia is currently being hit with a financial storm due to mismanagement in the past which caused the company's debt to swell more than Rp140 trillion. There are also more than 470 creditors who have submitted claims to Garuda Indonesia with a deadline of January 5, 2022.

Read: Garuda Indonesia Responds to Erick Thohir's Plan to Report the SOE

ANTARA