Civil servants seek neutrality<\/p>\n
Despite the House of Representatives' compromise, the
\nprolonged polemic on where civil servants' political loyalty
\nshould go to will likely continue. The Jakarta Post's Aan
\nSuryana, Edith Hartanto, Dwi Atmanta, Ridwan Max Sijabat, Riyadi,
\nYogita Tahil Ramani and photographer Oka Budhi Yogaswara looked
\ninto the issue.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Fifty-three-year-old Pudji Astuti is not ashamed
\nto acknowledge that her success in the bureaucracy, --she is at
\npresent a spokesperson for the Ministry of Manpower-- is thanks
\nto Golkar.<\/p>\n
As soon as she entered the civil service, she got her name
\nregistered as a Golkar member -- an eventual \"must\" under the
\nSoeharto New Order government. Since then she has voted for the
\npolitical grouping four times.<\/p>\n
\"Over the 20 years of my career in the civil service, I have
\nbeen promoted five times,\" she told The Jakarta Post. She said
\nthat she deserved it because she has been highly loyal to both
\nGolkar and her superiors.<\/p>\n
Although she attributes her success to her loyalty to Golkar,
\nnow she supports the strengthening public opinion that a civil
\nservant should be free to affiliate to any political party they
\nlike.<\/p>\n
\"Making civil servants loyal to Golkar is the New Order's
\nsin,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She is not alone in pushing the idea that the government
\nshould scrap its notorious \"monoloyalty\" policy, meaning that all
\ncivil servants must support Golkar, the legacy of the
\nauthoritarian New Order government.<\/p>\n
The over five million-strong civil service has indeed been one
\nof Golkar's main pillars. But following Soeharto's fall in May
\nlast year, the Habibie administration has been under pressure to
\n\"free\" civil servants and reinstate their political rights,
\nespecially as far these concern choosing political parties.<\/p>\n
In the ongoing deliberation of a political bill in the House
\nof Representatives, all of the four factions but Golkar agreed
\nthat civil servants should be neutral in any political context.
\nFor that purpose, they maintain that civil servants should be
\nbarred from holding a leadership position in any political party.<\/p>\n
Human rights<\/p>\n
Golkar officials argue that banning civil servants from
\nbecoming party leaders is tantamount to violations of human
\nrights. Other parties say that state employees should be loyal to
\nthe public, not to Golkar.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the government -- which has always sided with
\nGolkar on crucial issues, also maintains that civil servants
\nshould be politically neutral in order to provide better public
\nservice.<\/p>\n
After heavy pressure from all quarters, Golkar has eventually
\ngiven up with some apparent political \"compensations\" from the
\nother factions.<\/p>\n
Asal Barani Sagala, 45, a staffer in the security department
\nat the Jakarta administration, said that civil servants and ABRI
\n(Armed Forces) members should be pushed out of the political
\narena because they were supposed to serve the state, not a
\nparticular party.<\/p>\n
\"Civil servants should be barred from being involved in
\npolitics because they are state employees. This prohibition
\nshould be imposed not only because of Golkar's past mistakes but
\nalso because of the nature of their duties.\"<\/p>\n
The government is yet to revoke a 1976 regulation which
\nrequires all civil servants to become Golkar members. The rule
\nmakes it obligatory for any civil servant wanting to lend their
\nsupport to another political organization that they should first
\nobtain permission from their superiors, something which is nigh
\non impossible.<\/p>\n
ABRI, which has played a dominant role in politics during the
\nSoeharto 32-year rule has also showed its support for the idea
\nthat civil servants should be politically neutral.<\/p>\n
Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chief of Armed Forces
\nTerritorial Affairs, pointed out that a 1974 law on servicemen
\nassumes that both civil servants and ABRI members constitute a
\nneutral group in the bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
\"We should respect the legislation,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Djufrie Asmoredjo, chairman of the United Development Party
\n(PPP) faction in the House's Working Committee which deliberates
\nthe political parties bill, said it would be \"irrational,
\nbaseless and unfair\" to maintain the \"monoloyalty\" policy in this
\nreform era.<\/p>\n
Constitutional law experts have also voiced their support for
\nthe proposal that civil servants should be freed from political
\ninterests.<\/p>\n
They say that Golkar has for decades abused them in order to
\nwin every single election since the 70s.<\/p>\n
Sri Sumantri, professor of constitutional law at the
\nUniversity of Indonesia, said that there were no laws barring
\ncivil servants from participating in politics but the 1974 law on
\nthe civil service suggests that their loyalty should go to the
\nruling party.<\/p>\n
\"So it is only logical that it is made clear that civil
\nservants are politically neutral,\" he said, adding that most
\ndemocratic countries have also defended their servicemen's
\nneutrality in politics.<\/p>\n
Another constitutional law expert, Harun Alrasid, also attacks
\nGolkar for attempting to keep civil servants on its turf.<\/p>\n
\"The political bills should be deliberated by a House whose
\nmembers are elected by a fair and free general election so that
\ntheir independence from short-term political interests is
\nensured,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Harun denounced Golkar's argument in favor of allowing civil
\nservants to participate in political parties in the name of human
\nrights, saying Golkar might lose the great support from the civil
\nservice it has enjoyed over the past five general elections.<\/p>\n
\"Seen from the political point of view, Golkar has its own
\ninterests in defending the civil servants' role in politics
\nbecause a bigger part of Golkar functionaries are civil servants
\nand Golkar has a part of its financial sources in the state
\nbudget.<\/p>\n
J. Kristiadi, a political expert from the Centre for Strategic
\nand International Studies (CSIS), called on the government to
\nlift all laws requiring civil servants to support Golkar.<\/p>\n
He proposed that the Civil Servants Corps should hold a
\ncongress to decide whether or not its members should be allowed
\nto be involved in politics.<\/p>\n
According to Feisal Tamin, the Korpri chairman, Korpri in the
\nnear future will hold its national congress to assert its
\npolitical stance on his organization's neutrality.<\/p>\n
\"We will convene as soon as the government issues a regulation
\non civil servants,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Feisal says as far as it concerns the bill now under debate in
\nthe House, the government's stand on the civil servants is clear.<\/p>\n
Whatever the future law states about the positions of civil
\nservants, their political role will remain an important issue.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/civil-servants-seek-neutrality-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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