Civil servants' productivity

Civil servants' productivity

From Rakyat Merdeka

An article titled President's officials at echelon I to work
better published in Rakyat Merdeka recently has not only
surprised me but aroused my curiosity as well. The warning was
conveyed by the President to some state officials at the opening
of a national coordination meeting at the Department of Forestry
some time ago.

Law No 43/1999 stipulates that one of the requirements for
state high-ranking officials at echelon I or II is that they must
be a career-minded, with both technical and managerial
qualifications and dignity.

A civil servant (PNS) has a commitment to stay away from
political affiliations, or to remain politically neutral. Thus it
is crystal clear that officials at echelons I and II do not have
any intention to "boycott" the policy of their minister as their
top manager because many policies originate from his subordinates
and are made with due consideration.

Nowadays we have many ministers that have come from various
political parties and who forget to strip off their political
mantle once they become ministers.

Based on the remarks of State Minister for Administrative
Reforms Faisal Tamin, who once said that only 40 per cent of
civil servants were considered productive, they should respond to
Mega's warning positively. It is high time we improved the
management of the government.

F.X. INDRATNO, Bekasi, West Java