Apart from the impending changes in the leadership of the 2014-2019 House of Representatives (DPR) and the ministries, the changes of leadership in the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are also interesting to watch. As you may know, massive state-owned companies such as Pertamina, PGN, Garuda Indonesia, BRI, will have new leaders. In this article, we’ll talk about the leadership change in PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN).

The current CEO of PT PLN is Nur Pamudji. Nur Pamudji has been leading PLN since November 2011. He will end his term this coming November 2014. Pamudji has stated that he wouldn’t seek a second term, and has subsequently asked the SOEs Minister Dahlan Iskan to find his successor.

Dahlan had made his preference public. He wants Ignasius Jonan, the of CEO of state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI), as the next CEO of PLN. Dahlan said that proposed Jonan’s candidacy to the Final Appraisal Team (TPA) led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. Dahlan claimed that the TPA responded positively to the proposal of appointing Jonan, who is widely considered to be successful in transforming the railway company.

That said, the House Commission VI tasked with overseeing, among others, state-owned companies, asked Dahlan to postpone PLN’s leadership change until after the inauguration of Joko “Jokowi” Widodo as the new President of the Republic on Oct. 20. Vice President Boediono, in his capacity as the Deputy Head of the TPA, had also reportedly delivered similar suggestion.

Jonan is reportedly reluctant to take Dahlan’s offer to become the new PLN CEO. Jonan is widely tipped as a potential ministerial candidate for Jokowi’s cabinet. Jonan is reportedly the front runner for becoming Jokowi’s Minister of Infrastructure, a merger between the Ministry of Transportation and Ministry of Public Works currently considered by Jokowi’s transition team.

Last week, Jonan, in his capacity as KAI CEO, was invited to a meeting with Jokowi and Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama as Jakarta Governor and Vice Jakarta Governor respectively for discussing the construction of the long-delayed railway project of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Could this be a sign?

Jonan spent his early childhood in Singapore. He was born in the city state on Jun. 21, 1963. Jonan lived in Singapore until he was 10 years old. He and his family then moved to Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. fast forward to adulthood, Jonan earned his bachelors degree in accounting from the Airlangga University of Surabaya, and later continued his education abroad at some of the world’s finest universities such as Haas School of Business at Columbia University, Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and at Stanford Law School at Stanford University. People have described Jonan as stubborn, temperamental, and rude. But he is arguably the best SOE CEO there is.

Other than Jonan, other names that have been widely mentioned as alternative candidates are those coming internally from the PLN. They are Mochamad Harry Jaya Pahlawan, Nasri Sebayang, and Murtaqi Syamsuddin.

Back in 2011, all of Mochamad Harry Jaya Pahlawan, Nasri Sebayang, and Murtaqi Syamsuddin were among those who participated in the fit and proper test for becoming PLN’s CEO. At that time, Mochamad Harry Jaya Pahlawan was considered as one of the two strongest candidates alongside Nur Pamudji.

Harry Jaya Pahlawan is now PLN’s operational director for Western Indonesia. Prior to that, Harry held several strategic positions in PLN such as director of commerce, risk management, and compliance; vice president of international affairs (2008-2009); corporate secretary (2005-2008); and general manager of PLN South Sumatra, Jambi, & Bengkulu (2002-2005). Harry obtained his bachelor degree in Machine Engineering from the University of Indonesia (UI) in 1984. He then obtained his masters degree in Energy Economy from the University of Surrey, UK, in 1992.

Nasri Sebayang is PLN’s director of tenewables energy. He previously served as director of planning & technology since 2009. Nasro also served in a lot of other strategic positions in PLN such as deputy director of independent power producers (2006-2008), general manager of PLN Muara Tawar (2005-2006), and head of operation division at PLN North Sumatra (2000-2003). Nasri graduated from the Civil Engineering Department of North Sumatra University in 1979. He then obtained his masters degree in business administration from Erasmus University in 2007.

Murtaqi Syamsuddin is PLN’s director of planning and business affiliation management since 2011. He is also listed as president commissioner of PT Haleyora Power, one of PT PLN’s subsidiaries. Murtaqi once served as PLN’s director of commerce, risk management, and compliance (2009-2011). He also served as director of PLN Java, Madura, and Bali. Murtaqi obtained his bachelors degree in electrical engineering from the University of Indonesia in 1981. He then obtained a masters degree in business administration from the Oregon University, US, in 2003.

 

By Haryanto Suharman

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