Komnas HAM Urges Government to Immediately Provide Certainty on Fate of 1.2 Million CASN

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – The National Commission on Human Rights, or Komnas HAM, urges the government to provide clarity regarding the policy of postponing the appointment of Prospective Civil Servants (CASN) to Civil Servants (ASN). If certainty is not provided promptly, the government risks violating human rights for 1.2 million CASN affected by the postponement policy.

Komnas HAM member Anis Hidayah stated that Komnas HAM is also concerned about the fate of 1.2 million CASN who were supposed to be appointed in 2025 but have been postponed until October 2025 or 2026. The government certainly has its own considerations for delaying the appointment of these CASN. However, since this affects the livelihoods of 1.2 million people, Komnas HAM also has important notes in the context of human rights protection.

"It is important for the government to provide certainty about how long this delay will last? Then, is it true that this is a delay or elimination of ASN, it must be firm. Because, certainty is very important for the fate of millions of people who are in a situation where finding work is not easy in Indonesia," said Anis when met, Monday (10/3/2025).

According to the former activist for the protection of Indonesian migrant workers, Komnas HAM's main concern is for CASN who have resigned from their previous jobs to register for CASN selection. If their fate is not clear, there is a potential for human rights violations, where they have the potential to become temporarily unemployed because they previously had jobs, but had to resign because they were accepted as CASN.

"It turns out that there was a delay in the appointment as ASN," he explained.

In the context of human rights, one of the principles of human rights is that fundamental rights are interdependent and mutually influential. The potential human right that may be violated is the right to work. When there is no legal certainty from the government, it has the potential to disrupt the fulfillment of other rights, such as the right to education, the right to food, and the right to welfare.

"There must be certainty immediately, because if not, the series will become very long," he stressed.

According to Anis, more than 1 million Government Employees with Work Agreements (PPPK) who are waiting to be appointed as Civil Servants (ASN) have, on average, been waiting a long time for clarity regarding their employment status. Each year, they have to renew their work contracts.

When they received confirmation of being appointed as civil servants, now there is information about a delay. This is certainly exhausting for those who have served for a long time and are waiting for certainty regarding their employment status.

"The announcement was also made just before Eid, making it psychologically quite burdensome for the 1.2 million CASN and their family members. Psychologically, it affected many people," he said.

Komnas HAM also recommends that the government consider and immediately decide on a mechanism for certainty of the appointment of CASN to become ASN. If there is indeed a delay or even extreme elimination of ASN, the government is obliged to provide compensation to the parties who suddenly lost their jobs. There must be some kind of compensation with a formulation that provides a sense of justice for the victims.

"All stakeholders, be it the State Civil Service Agency (BKN) or the Ministry of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (Kemenpan RB), the Ministry of Finance, must all sit together to discuss the right formulation and solution to this problem," he explained.

Meanwhile, it was previously reported that the appointment of CASN, both prospective civil servants (CPNS) and government employees with work agreements (PPPK), in 2025 was postponed from the initial plan. This decision also made a number of prospective civil servants disappointed, even feeling oppressed, because they had lost their previous livelihoods.

The appointment of CPNS has been postponed to October 2025. In fact, initially CPNS was scheduled to be appointed from February 22 to March 23, 2025.

The postponement of this schedule is said to be the result of an agreement in a working meeting and hearing of Commission II of the DPR with the Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform (Menpan and RB) Rini Widyantini and the Head of the State Civil Service Agency (BKN) Zudan Arif Fakrulloh at the Nusantara Building, Jakarta, Wednesday (5/3/2025).

PPPK candidates as part of CASN also suffered a similar fate. In the same meeting, the appointment of PPPK which was supposed to be carried out in June 2025 was postponed to March 2026.

The government argued that this delay was made for the sake of simultaneity in the acceptance of ASN. This was also discussed in a working meeting with Commission II of the DPR.

In fact, Menpan and RB Rini Widyanti stated that the simultaneous appointment will be carried out on October 1, 2025 because this process takes time. "It must be done carefully and cautiously," she said (Kompas, 3/9/2025).

The government's decision inevitably makes the public restless. Moreover, there are around 1.2 million CASN who are still unable to get clarity regarding their appointment. Based on data from the Minister of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform, these CASN consist of 248,970 CPNS and 1,017,111 PPPK candidates.

With so many applicants and people affected by the delay, the internet is in turmoil. For example, public unrest is also reflected in tweets on social media X (formerly Twitter).