Bureaucrats routine snag in research

Bureaucrats routine snag in research

SEMARANG, Central (JP): Scientific research on the Indonesian
electoral system has historically been complicated by byzantine
bureaucratic procedures and tight-lipped bureaucrats, an academic
confided yesterday.

Susilo Utomo, a political lecturer at Diponegoro University,
pointed out that academics wanting to do research in the area are
usually deterred by the arduous process of obtaining the
necessary official license for the project.

"Moreover, many government officials refuse to give the
information that the scholar needs for his research," Susilo told
The Jakarta Post.

Bureaucrats, he said, are reluctant or overly cautious in
sharing their opinions on political matters for reasons unclear
to most.

Such an attitude clearly does not help researchers and the
validity and objectiveness of their information becomes
questionable, he added.

Susilo was commenting on President Soeharto's recent order
that the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI) research ways to
improve the existing electoral system.

LIPI, an institute that directly answers to the President, has
set up a special team chaired by Mochtar Pabottingi to begin the
project.

Susilo refused to speculate if bureaucrats would be more
generous about furnishing information to LIPI researchers due to
the presidential order.

"I hope that the bureaucratic attitude toward academic
research will change in the future," he said. He added that there
have been "many" small-scale studies on the electoral system but
none on a national scale like LIPI's current undertaking.

Some universities have conducted mock general elections in a
local context, which LIPI may use for their national
implications.

However, the scope of LIPI's next research project is unknown.
"It is unclear if it is also meant to improve the performance of
the House of Representatives," Susilo said. (har/pan)