Civil servants deserve better pay

We definitely agree that there is an urgent need to substantially raise the salaries of civil servants as well as military and police personnel -- a salary raise that not only compensates for inflation, but one that truly improves their welfare and wellbeing.

Establishing a clean, efficient and effective government is one of the main tasks of Gus Dur's (President Abdurrahman Wahid's) government, and to accomplish that task he must rely on the bureaucracy. For this reason we tend to go along with the view that civil servant living standards should be improved without delay.

If, after a careful assessment of the priorities, it should be found that this cannot be carried out immediately, a gradual approach could be used. Thus it could be that a realistic and fair pay scale for civil servants might only be attained in, say, three year's time.

All this, however, must be carried out with a definite purpose in mind. That is, to establish a clean, effective and efficient government.

-- Kompas, Jakarta