Civil servants deserve better pay

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