Deddy Corbuzier Becomes Defense Minister's Special Staff, Budget Efficiency Questioned

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin inaugurated celebrity Deodatus Andreas Deddy Cahyadi Sunjoyo, also known as Deddy Corbuzier, as one of his special staff members, in addition to several other special staff and special assistants. The inauguration drew criticism as it was conducted amidst President Prabowo Subianto's instructions to streamline the budget.

The inauguration was held at the Bhineka Tunggal Ika Hall, Ministry of Defense (Kemhan), Jakarta, Tuesday (11/2/2025).

Deddy Corbuzier has been appointed as Special Staff (Stafsus) to the Minister of Defense (Menhan) in the field of Social and Public Communication. In addition to Deddy, Sjafrie appointed Major General (Ret.) Sudrajat as Special Staff to the Minister of Defense in the field of Defense Diplomacy; Kris Wijoyo Soepandji as Special Staff to the Minister of Defense in the field of State Administration; Lenis Kogoya as Special Staff to the Minister of Defense in the field of Sovereignty of the Republic of Indonesia; Indra Irawan as Special Staff to the Minister of Defense in the field of Defense Economy; and Sylvia Efi Widyantari Sumarlin as Special Assistant to the Minister of Defense in the field of Cyber Security.

In addition to inaugurating the Special Staff (Stafsus) and Special Assistants to the Minister of Defense, Sjafrie awarded the Dharma Defense honor to several figures as a form of appreciation for their services and dedication in the field of defense.

"The appointment of the Defense Minister's Special Staff emphasizes the importance of strategic role collaboration in maintaining sovereignty, while the award given serves as a symbol of honor for those who have contributed tirelessly," said Sjafrie as quoted from his personal Instagram account post on Tuesday.

The Head of the Defense Information Bureau (Karo Infohan) of the Ministry of Defense, Brigadier General (TNI) Frega Wenas Inkiriwang, stated that Deddy Corbuzier was appointed as a Special Staff in his capacity as a public communication expert.

"The broad influence in the media, including social media and his expertise in public communication, is expected to contribute to strengthening defense literacy and increasing public participation in national defense with Mr. Deddy's role," he said in a written statement.

The appointment of Deddy along with other special staff was emphasized to be in accordance with Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 140 of 2024 concerning the Organization of State Ministries. In the regulation, particularly in Chapter IX on Special Staff, Article 69, it is stated that "Special staff may be appointed within the Coordinating Ministry or Ministry with a maximum of 5 (five) special staff" and "Special staff are appointed by the Coordinating Minister or Minister after obtaining the president's approval."

"So, every ministry does have the authority to appoint Special Staff, including the Ministry of Defense," said Frega.

Although the appointment of special staff has a legal basis, according to researcher of the National Secretariat of the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency (Seknas Fitra) Gulfino Guevarrato, the appointment is unethical amidst President Prabowo's policy of streamlining the budgets of ministries/agencies and local governments.

"This actually disrupts the interests of the ministry and others. For instance, when there are honorary workers whose contracts are not extended. Or, there are special staff or expert staff whose contracts are not extended because there is no work. On the other hand, the Ministry of Defense is instead giving out special staff positions," he said.

He also questioned the urgency of inaugurating special staff and special assistants as new officials within the Ministry of Defense. In addition to spending the budget, the competence of the officials who were inaugurated was also questioned.

Sjafrie as Defense Minister, Gulfino continued, is expected to find the right momentum to inaugurate new officials. Because, currently, many ministries have had their budgets cut, thus disrupting performance. In fact, the PUPR Ministry has made savings of up to Rp 81.38 trillion.

On the other hand, the country is in need of a lot of budget to finance various national priority programs. If the Special Staff and Special Assistant to the Minister of Defense correlate with national development goals, then there is no problem.

"I don't know the relevance of Deddy Corbuzier entering, for example, as a Special Staff who previously also held the rank of titular Lieutenant Colonel, I don't know what the urgency is. And, I also think it's not right," he added.

For information, unlike other ministries/institutions, the Ministry of Defense is not among those whose budgets are being cut. The Ministry of Defense's budget ceiling this year reaches Rp166.26 trillion.

Meanwhile, KPK Spokesperson Budi Prasetyo explained that based on KPK Regulation (Perkom) Number 3 of 2024, ministerial special staff are included in the mandatory State Officials' Wealth and Assets Report (LHKPN). However, the regulation will be effective six months after it is stipulated or April 1, 2025.

Even so, the KPK will first coordinate with the Ministry of Defense to ensure the status of the newly appointed minister's special staff whether it is equivalent to echelon I, II, or III officials. "If it is equivalent, the person concerned is required to report his/her LHKPN with a deadline of three months from the inauguration, or May 12, 2025," he explained.

If it is not included as an echelon I, II, or III official, then the reporting deadline is calculated two months since Perkom No. 3/2024 comes into effect, namely June 1, 2025. The KPK is also open to assisting newly appointed public officials in the process of filling out the LHKPN.