Awaiting the Guardian of Meritocracy

Bureaucratic reform is often understood as a smooth path towards professionalism, with new regulatory traffic, digitalisation, and the implementation of talent management being touted as its vehicles. However, in practice, the road to reform does not always move forward. There are phases when things appear to change, but in reality, they are merely marking time. The Constitutional Court (MK) Decision Number 121/PUU-XXII/2024 partially grants a material review of Law 20/2023 on Civil Servants and reaffirms the importance of re-establishing an independent oversight institution. The state is given a maximum deadline of two years from the reading of the decision to form a new institutional design. This decision is not only juridical but also normative, affirming that civil servant meritocracy cannot stand without independent and credible oversight. Normatively, the merit system has become the foundation of civil servant management. Principles of qualification, competence, and performance form the basis for filling positions. Instruments such as open selection for high-level leadership positions, digital-based performance management, and strengthening the talent pool are beginning to be implemented in various agencies. Even the government is promoting the integration of civil servant data through a national system to support competency-based decision-making. But field practices show a chasm between design and implementation. The filling of strategic positions is still often coloured by non-merit considerations such as political loyalty, personal closeness, and power compromises. The merit system does not collapse openly, but erodes slowly. In many cases, procedures are still followed, but their substance deviates. Meritocracy becomes a formality, not a principle. And when that happens, the role of oversight becomes decisive. In merit system theory, oversight is the gatekeeper that maintains the integrity of personnel decisions. Without independent oversight, the merit system loses its correction mechanism.