Top officials 'undeserving' of pay raise<\/p>\n
Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government's plan to increase the take-home pay of the
\nPresident, Vice President, ministers, and high-ranking state
\nofficials met with mixed reactions on Wednesday amid the
\ngovernment's appeal for the public to be thrifty.<\/p>\n
High-ranking state officials do not deserve raises due to
\ntheir poor performance, Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW) deputy
\nLuki Djani said.<\/p>\n
\"They haven't materialized any of their promises made during
\nthe campaigns, and yet have been able to introduce preventive
\nmeasures to anticipate the many crises we face,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Awaiting discussion with the House of Representatives for
\napproval, the government plans to increase the take-home pay by 5
\npercent for the President, Vice President, ministers and other
\nstate officials, 7 percent for first echelon officials, and by
\nbetween 15 percent and 30 percent for other civil servants.<\/p>\n
Luki said, however, that increasing the pay of civil servants,
\npolice and teachers was logical and should be supported to help
\nthem improve their welfare. He said it was not acceptable to
\nraise the pay of first echelon civil servants, let alone the
\nPresident and Vice President.<\/p>\n
\"This is like a game. The government and the House propose
\nraises together, and approve each other's request, so they all
\nbenefit,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The House recently proposed that the take-home pay for its 550
\nmembers be doubled, which also needs to be discussed with the
\ngovernment before being approved.<\/p>\n
\"From their wealth reports, we know that the President, Vice
\nPresident and ministers were already rich before taking office.
\nApart from their take-home pay, they enjoy other allowances and
\nfacilities,\" Luki said.<\/p>\n
He went on to say that high-ranking Indonesian government
\nofficials and legislator enjoyed a \"more luxurious\" take-home pay
\nthan that their counterparts in the Netherlands and Thailand.<\/p>\n
\"Our legislators receive higher salaries than those in
\nThailand, a country with (other) incomes three and a half times
\nmore than Indonesia. In the Netherlands, state officials and
\nlegislators don't get salaries if their activities or businesses
\noutside their positions earn them more,\" he explained.<\/p>\n
Legislator A.M. Fatwa, who is a deputy speaker of the People's
\nConsultative Assembly, said now was not the right time for top
\nstate officials to get increases.<\/p>\n
\"But these proposals should be discussed to reexamine our
\npayment system because, honestly, it's not proportional. How come
\nlegislators at the national level receive less than those in
\nregions, or why does the President get less than a director of a
\nstate enterprise?\" he argued.<\/p>\n
Support for the proposal came from Assembly Speaker Hidayat
\nNurwahid and House deputy speaker Zaenal Ma'arif.<\/p>\n
\"With a pay increase, the public will have stronger grounds to
\ndemand that the government improve its performance as well as
\ncurb corruption. They could go all-out,\" said Zaenal.<\/p>\n
Hidayat said the pay increase could be considered a form of
\nappreciation for state officials for their achievements in
\nrunning the country.<\/p>",
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