Bandung City Council Urges Evaluation of Civil Servants' Performance to Enhance Professionalism
The Bandung City Council assesses that, based on the realities on the ground, the performance of Civil Servants (ASN) still needs improvement. Therefore, an evaluation is required to realise professional and integrity-based government governance.
Some ASN are assessed as still working to minimum standards, with minimal innovation and not yet demonstrating maximum public service spirit. This includes the emergence of issues surrounding job auctions, which are believed to require comprehensive evaluation to avoid undermining the principles of meritocracy in the bureaucracy.
In the context of social justice, the situation becomes increasingly relevant to highlight when compared to cleaning staff (gober), waste sorters (gaslah), and honorary teachers. With average incomes of around Rp1.25 million, or even hundreds of thousands of rupiah for honorary teachers in some educational institutions, they still bear significant workloads and responsibilities, and play important roles in public services.
For the Bandung City Council, this comparison reveals disparities that must be addressed. In principle of justice and proportionality, differences in welfare levels should align with performance, responsibilities, and real contributions to society.
“Therefore, ASN who receive relatively larger salaries and allowances are demanded to demonstrate professionalism, optimal performance, and high integrity as a form of moral and institutional accountability to the public,” stated the Bandung DPRD in an official release.
On the other hand, the Bandung City Council also highlights the efficiency policy through the Work From Home (WFH) scheme implemented by the West Java Provincial Government (Pemprov Jabar), such as a four-day office work pattern and two days WFH. If not balanced with supervision and clear performance indicators, this policy is said to potentially lower the public service spirit.
The Bandung City Council hopes that the WFH policy will not be implemented in Bandung City, but instead prioritises optimal ASN presence in providing services to the community.
At the same time, the Bandung City Council acknowledges that many ASN demonstrate good performance and are capable of introducing innovations. This serves as a positive example that needs to be emulated to create a productive and competitive work environment among ASN.
Furthermore, the process of filling positions through the job auction mechanism is encouraged to be evaluated by the government to involve the DPRD more, particularly Commission I, in providing constitutionally valid input in accordance with meritocracy principles.
The Bandung City Council reminds that the involvement of the legislative institution is important to maintain transparency and accountability in the bureaucracy.
With relatively large salaries and allowances, ASN are expected to demonstrate commensurate performance oriented towards public services. The momentum of Eid al-Fitr is hoped to serve as a reflection for all ASN, both civil servants (PNS) and government employees with work agreements (P3K), to increase motivation, integrity, and dedication spirit.
In the future, improving ASN performance must become the top priority to realise a professional, responsive government oriented towards public interests, while also promoting a sense of justice for all elements of the workforce contributing to public services.
In accordance with Law No. 20 of 2023 on Civil Servants, ASN is recorded as a profession consisting of Civil Servants (PNS) and Government Employees with Work Agreements (P3K), either full-time or part-time, who have strategic roles in government administration.
The ASN arrangement policy, including the elimination of non-ASN personnel who have previously assisted government tasks, is directed towards creating a more structured and professional work system. This step is expected to improve the performance of PNS and P3K, so that public services become more optimal.