Efforts to establish clean, respected government<\/p>\n
By Prijono Tjiptoherijanto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): In order to maintain the momentum of our
\nnation's development it is imperative to create an honest and
\nwell-respected administration. Experts, both foreign and
\ndomestic, say that the quality of public service rendered by our
\nstate bureaucracy remains a far cry from optimal. The main source
\nof the problem is the state officials themselves. Their ability
\nto work as servants of the populace has fallen behind the
\nsociety's demands and expectations, which keep on expanding and
\nincreasing in intensity.<\/p>\n
The weakness in the bureaucracy is the result of the
\nshortcomings in the process of instilling a sense of ethics,
\nhonesty and responsibility in civil servants. This process starts
\nat a planning stage and ends with the monitoring stage.<\/p>\n
Recruitment of civil servants based solely on merits and
\nskills is not yet a reality. The problem is aggravated by a
\ncareer development system that has yet to be structured. Both of
\nthese problems result in the imperfection of the process of
\nrecruiting and keeping civil servants in their profession. As a
\nconsequence, the bureaucracy is not an attractive choice for
\nuniversity graduates. The private sector is far more enticing to
\nthem. Therefore, only the second best are ever interested in
\nbecoming civil servants. Not infrequently, the third or maybe the
\nfourth best are the only applicants for posts in the state's
\nbureaucracy.<\/p>\n
The rewards of working for the government are not attractive
\nenough to university graduates. One look at the table below will
\ntell us how low the incomes of government employees are when
\ncompared with the incomes of people working in the private
\nsectors. Only in Singapore -- a country with a very strong and
\nreliable administration -- do those working in the public sector
\nreceive higher salaries than those working in the private sector.
\nWhat with the low inflation rates and high per capita income,
\nthere is no reason to doubt that Singapore's civil servants enjoy
\na much better living standard than civil servants in other ASEAN
\ncountries.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, with the lowest per capita income in the region and
\nhigh inflation rates, shows a huge gap between the incomes in
\npublic and private sectors. Incomes earned by civil servants here
\nare just one quarter, or at the best, one third, of what
\nemployees of private companies receive. Therefore, it is no
\nsurprise that becoming a civil servant is not an aspiration of
\nthe best breed of university graduates. Lack of career
\nopportunities adds to the unattractiveness of working for the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
As far as a control mechanism is concerned, an honest and
\nrespected bureaucracy can only be attained if the society is
\nallowed to enforce the accountability of government policies.
\nOnly with transparency and the willingness to let itself be
\nscrutinized by the public can the state bureaucracy be improved.<\/p>\n
Clearly, the requirements for honest civil servants involve
\nstringent selection and recruitment processes, a clear mechanism
\nfor career development, and a control system that is fully ac
\ncountable.<\/p>\n
However, it is also necessary to take into account external
\nfactors that affect these three action plans. Economic growth is
\nrequired so that the per capita income can be further increased.
\nEconomic stability, as indicated by low inflation rates, should
\nbe maintained so that the public's buying power does not wane.
\nParallel with the above actions, the disparity between the
\nincomes in the public sector and those in the private sector
\nshould be reduced. Without these additional efforts, any talk of
\nimproving the bureaucracy will be nothing more than rhetoric. It
\nis very hard to welcome salary increases if the prices have been
\ngoing up and the buying power has already diminished.<\/p>\n
On top of this, any increase in the civil servants' salaries
\nwill mean very little if their counterparts in the private sector
\nreceive substantial increases in their wages twice yearly -- not
\nto mention their bonuses and other benefits. The income gap will
\ncontinue to haunt our administration and it will be almost
\nimpossible to improve the quality of our bureaucracy.<\/p>\n
The writer is a deputy chairman at the State Administration
\nInstitute.<\/p>\n
Window: Incomes earned by civil servants here
\nare just one quarter, or at the best, one third, of what
\nemployees of private companies receive. Therefore, it is no
\nsurprise that becoming a civil servant is not an aspiration of
\nthe best breed of university graduates.<\/p>",
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