Tag: conflict of interest

  • Indonesia: Chief Justice dismissed over decision in favor of the President’s son

    Indonesia: Chief Justice dismissed over decision in favor of the President’s son

    A judicial panel in Indonesia has dismissed the Chief Justice of the country over allegations of conflict of interest. It was reported that Chief Justice Anwar Usman gave a verdict in favour of President Joko Widodo’s son, Gibran Rakabuming Raka.

    Last month, Chief Justice who happened to be the President’s relative, gave a ruling regarding the age limit of vice-presidential elections, a decision critics saw as favouring him to a great extent. The controversy led to an outrage resulting in his dismissal by the panel of judges in the top court.

    The judicial panel found him guilty of violating the ethical code of judges as he is the brother-in-law of the president and should have remained neutral but he could not recuse himself.

    The panel was asked to investigate the conduct of judges amid public outcry after they ruled that the minimum age requirement of 40 need not apply to election candidates who had previously held elected office. The ruling was made just days before the start of registration for the 2024 election. The 36-year-old, already serving as a mayor of Surakarta city, was able to register for the election of the vice president.

    The panel has decided that Justice Anwar can serve as one of the nine judges of the court but must not take part in any election-related cases in the future as those fall under a conflict of interest. The rest of the eight judges have also been reprimanded by the panel.

    Criticism against the decision stemmed from the public seeing the step as part of Widodo’s aim of forming a dynasty by appointing his son the the vice-president. He himself has completed two terms and has not backed any candidate formally for upcoming elections.

  • ‘Schedule a dental appointment’ with the President of Pakistan

    ‘Schedule a dental appointment’ with the President of Pakistan

    President Dr Arif Alvi’s son, Dr Awab Alvi, recently took to Twitter to announce that his family business, Alvi Dental, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bringing Smiles USA. 

    With the president in attendance, a debate started amongst netizens questioning if it was a direct conflict of interest for Alvi to be a president and promote the family business as well.

    After receiving backlash from Twitterati, Dr Awab Alvi clarified that his father had resigned from the family business after he became president.

    “The President resigned from Alvi Dental when he became President. This venture is between me & my Pakistani US diaspora dentist-alumnus friend,” tweeted Awab.

    Awab further tweeted, “President encourages all startups much smaller than ours & is on record to have hosted a startup in dentistry at Presidency last year.”

    However, when we checked the official website of “Alvi Dentals”, the president is still enlisted as a dentist and part of the Alvi Dental team. The website also provides an option to “schedule an appointment” with the president.

    Screengrab from the official website of Alvi Dental

    The Current talked to Shiagan Ijaz, a Lahore-based lawyer, to know if the matter was a conflict of interest for the president. “Yes, the perception that is being created very much puts the present scenario as a conflict of interest for the president.”

    “Even if it was a private venture, the president was present there, which certainly gives the impression and can be perceived as misuse of his office. So there has been a misuse of his authority here,” said Shaighan.

    The presidential oath also says, “As a President of Pakistan, I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct.”

  • Twitterati say President Alvi promoting own family business is ‘conflict of interest’

    President Dr Arif Alvi’s son, Awab Alvi took to Twitter to announce that Alvi Dental [ a family business] signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bringing Smiles Unites States of America (USA).

    He further added, “[We will] open a chain of dental practices, bring affordable dental care to Pakistan with no compromise in quality of treatment or sterilisation but focus on the best treatment possible at affordable rates.”

    President Alvi congratulating his son tweeted, “Congratulations @DrAwab Wish you success in this collaboration with your friends who are also bringing in foreign investment.”

    In the picture shared on Twitter, president Alvi along with his wife can be seen standing along with their son as he signs the MoU.

    Reacting to the news, Twitter reminded the president of a conflict of interest that this promotion has with his holding the position he does in Pakistan.

    Journalist Adil Shahzeb took to Twitter and wrote, “As a President of Pakistan, I will not allow my personal interest to influence my official conduct.”

    Journalist Waseem Abbasi tweeted, “Is [it] not [a] conflict of interest for the President to promote his family business in official capacity??”

    Journalist Bashir Chaudhry tweeted, “Keep in mind that the private business function of the President was held at Governor House, Sindh.”

    A Twitter user wrote, “Why is this guy using a public office for his personal matters?”

    Adeel a Twitter user wrote, “@ImranKhanPTI sir, with all due respect how is that even legal? Personal business is thriving under the supervision of excellency?”