Indonesia’s Minister of Human Rights, Natalius Pigai, is facing legal challenges after being sued by a ministry employee, Ernie Nurheyanti M. Toelle, in Jakarta’s State Administrative Court (PTUN). The lawsuit centers on a recent job reassignment that the employee alleges was carried out improperly.
Toelle, who previously held the position of Secretary of the Directorate General of Human Rights Services and Compliance (a high-ranking position – Echelon IIA), was transferred to the role of Intermediate Human Rights Analyst through a ministerial decree issued January 23, 2026, bearing the number MHA-14 KP.04.04.
Toelle is being represented in the legal proceedings by Deby Astuti Fangidae and Mordentika Sagala.
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“This decree violated administrative procedures and was issued without a transparent and objective decision-making process,” Toelle’s legal counsel stated in a written release on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
The lawsuit alleges two primary issues with the ministerial decision. First, Minister Pigai cited concerns about Toelle’s budget absorption performance. Although, her lawyers contend that the Secretariat General of Human Rights Services and Compliance achieved a budget absorption rate of 99.56 percent. Overall budget absorption within the Directorate General of Human Rights Services and Compliance was 92.88 percent.
Toelle’s performance evaluation documents indicate a “Good” rating. Her legal team argues that the decision to reassign her failed to consider her 31 years of service within the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, and one year specifically within the Ministry of Human Rights.
The second point of contention is that the decision was not preceded by a transparent performance evaluation process, nor was it based on the administrative review required by law.
According to the legal team, notification of the reassignment was delivered via WhatsApp less than 24 hours before it took effect.
“This disregard for formal administrative correspondence in order to force a decision demonstrates an abuse of power and a neglect of proper bureaucratic ethics,” the lawyers stated.
Toelle reportedly filed three written objections to the decree, but the Minister of Human Rights allegedly did not respond in writing.
Her counsel asserts that this lack of response suggests a lack of transparency and an attempt to conceal relevant facts. They characterize the transfer not as a simple reassignment, but as a disguised demotion that could damage Toelle’s career.
“Our client regrets the Minister’s actions, which are inconsistent with the principles of human rights, particularly the right to transparent information. This also undermines the government’s efforts to implement a merit-based system where career advancement is based on performance and objective assessment,” the legal team said.
“In response to this arbitrary action by the Minister of Human Rights, we have filed a lawsuit with the State Administrative Court and hope that the court’s decision will invalidate the decree as legally flawed,” they added.
Toelle confirmed the legal action in a separate message, stating that the next hearing is scheduled for March 16. “The hearing on March 16 will be closed to the public,” she said.
CNNIndonesia.com reached out to Natalius Pigai for comment but had not received a response as of this report.
(fra/ryn/fra)
