Analyst Highlights Need for Performance Indicators in Regional Head Remuneration Hike Discourse
A public policy observer from Jenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) Purwokerto, Tobirin, believes that the discourse regarding the increase of financial rights for regional heads needs to be balanced with measurable, transparent performance indicators and strong oversight mechanisms to ensure genuine public benefit.
“Increasing the welfare of regional heads can serve as a driver for work motivation,” said the Deputy Dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) Unsoed in Purwokerto, Central Java, on Tuesday.
However, he noted that such a policy must be accompanied by clear performance metrics, openness to the public, and a strict system of rewards and sanctions. According to him, the public has not yet received adequate information regarding the indicators of success for regional heads in performing their duties.
Therefore, he argued, every increase in financial rights should be followed by the publication of key performance indicators so that the community can conduct objective monitoring. “There should not only be an increase in financial rights; the key performance indicators must also be disclosed to the public so that the resulting achievements can be measured,” he said.
He stated that increasing the financial rights of regional heads can fundamentally provide a boost to motivation and performance. However, he emphasised that the policy must have a clear regulatory basis to ensure it is truly oriented towards improving the quality of public services.
Regarding corruption prevention, he assessed that increasing the welfare of regional heads does not automatically eliminate corrupt practices, as the issue is also influenced by the mentality of officials. According to him, an individual with the opportunity and intent to commit corruption still possesses the potential to break the law, even with a higher income.
“In addition to the factor of mentality, the high political cost in the regional head election process is also an issue that needs to be addressed,” he said.
He assessed that the position of a regional head as a political office is vulnerable to various political compromises that require significant expenditure. Therefore, he emphasised that improvements in governance must be carried out comprehensively, ranging from the drafting of clear regulations and the implementation of transparent performance indicators to the reform of the high-cost political system.
“As long as political costs remain high, increasing the financial rights of regional heads will not necessarily result in a proportional decrease in corruption. What must be improved are the regulations, performance transparency, official mentality, and the political system,” said Tobirin.
Recent sting operations (OTT) involving regional heads indicate that the issue of corruption in Indonesia has not yet reached its root cause. Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Bima Arya emphasised that eradicating corruption among regional heads requires reforms in the political system, elections, and the strengthening of the independence of Internal Government Oversight Apparatus (APIP).
Corrupt practices at the local government level are generally concentrated in three areas: job promotions, the procurement of goods and services, and the granting of permits.
There are urgent calls for the state and law enforcement to focus on fixing the upstream processes of democracy, particularly the governance of political parties. It has been explained that the high political capital required in Regional Head Elections (Pilkada) does not only stem from campaign logistics expenditures.