Amartha CEO steps down as special adviser to Jokowi

Amartha CEO Andi Taufan Garuda Putra has resigned from his post as a special staffer to Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, shortly after fellow staffer Belva Devara, CEO and co-founder of Ruangguru, officially announced his exit from the same position.

Amartha’s CEO, Andi Taufan Garuda Putra / Photo credit: Amartha

In an open letter to members of the local media, Taufan said that President Widodo has approved his resignation, which he submitted on April 17.

“This resignation is solely based on my sincere desire to be able to fully serve the economic empowerment of the community, especially those running micro and small businesses,” Taufan wrote.

Prior to his resignation, the 33-year-old drew flak from social media users and politicians alike after he had asked district heads across Indonesia to support a Covid-19 relief program led by his own peer-to-peer lending firm. He has since revoked that request and issued an apology.

“So many valuable lessons I learned. I also did not escape from various shortcomings. For that, I apologize again and will try my best to be better,” Taufan also stated in the letter.

Ruangguru’s Devara had been similarly caught in controversy before he stepped down from his government post, facing accusations of conflict of interest after his company was picked as a partner in the government’s new pre-employment card program. Devara denied the claims, saying that Ruangguru went through a selection process carried out by the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs and Managing Management.

Taufan and Devara, along with 12 other individuals, were handpicked by President Widodo to serve as his special staffers in November 2019. “They will provide me with innovative ideas, sparking out-of-the-box ideas that will help us achieve progress,” President Widodo said at the time.

The appointments, however, were almost immediately met with criticism. A public policy observer had previously said that while they gave the younger generation a chance to participate more in the country’s development, the staffers would still face a feudal bureaucratic culture within the government.