Jakarta bureaucrats say they loathe to be called public servants<\/p>\n
Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
Complaints over poor public services are often a subject of
\nconversation among Jakartans in offices, coffee shops, markets,
\nwaiting rooms and on public transportation.<\/p>\n
A number of bureaucrats, however, feel that the complaints of
\ntax payers do not deserve any response.<\/p>\n
This attitude among bureaucrats surfaced on Monday at the
\nquantum leadership and role awareness workshop attended by around
\n100 of Jakarta's subdistrict and district heads.<\/p>\n
The workshop was organized by the Indonesian Civil Servant
\nCorps (Korpri) to discuss efforts to improve the city's public
\nservices.<\/p>\n
A workshop participant, who is a subdistrict head in North
\nJakarta, objected to being called a public servant.<\/p>\n
He said such a term would raise people's expectations. \"By
\nthinking that we are their servants, people will be spoiled. They
\nwill be arrogant toward us,\" said the official, who did not
\nmention his name while speaking at the workshop.<\/p>\n
Subdistrict and district heads are not public servants, they
\nare \"public partners in the development process\", he said.<\/p>\n
His comment was made in response to a remark by workshop
\nspeaker Wagiono Ismangil, a senior consultant with the Jakarta
\nConsulting Group.<\/p>\n
Wagiono, who is also a professor at the school of economics of
\nthe University of Indonesia (UI), told the workshop that
\nsubdistrict and district heads were front-liners of the city
\nadministration in serving the public.<\/p>\n
Therefore, he said the officials should change their attitude
\n-- from maintaining their power in dealing with the public to
\ntheir function as public servants.<\/p>\n
Wagiono told The Jakarta Post that he was not surprised by the
\nresponse of participants to his remarks about public services.<\/p>\n
Bureaucrats in all levels of services preferred to use an
\nauthoritarian approach that has been inherited from the New Order
\nregime rather than fulfilling their function as public servants,
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"It is not easy to change their attitude because it has been
\ningrained for a very long time,\" he said, adding that such a
\nworkshop could be used as an instrument to change officials'
\nunderstanding of public services.<\/p>\n
According to Wagiono, the wish of provincial governors to have
\nthe same authority as ministers' was an indication that state
\nofficials preferred to be armed with as strong a power as
\npossible.<\/p>\n
In his opening remarks, deputy governor Fauzi Bowo said that
\nthe objective of the workshop was to help subdistrict and
\ndistrict heads to become professional and skilled leaders in
\ntheir respective territories.<\/p>\n
He stressed professional leadership was essential because they
\nwere the city administration's representatives who deal directly
\nwith the people.<\/p>\n
He said successful district and subdistrict heads were those
\nwho could satisfy the public with their services.<\/p>\n
\"The indication of your success is how you satisfy the people
\nin implementing public services and how you accommodate people's
\naspirations in your programs,\" he added.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-bureaucrats-say-they-loathe-to-be-called-public-servants-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}