Civil servants seek neutrality

Civil servants seek neutrality

Despite the House of Representatives' compromise, the
prolonged polemic on where civil servants' political loyalty
should go to will likely continue. The Jakarta Post's Aan
Suryana, Edith Hartanto, Dwi Atmanta, Ridwan Max Sijabat, Riyadi,
Yogita Tahil Ramani and photographer Oka Budhi Yogaswara looked
into the issue.

JAKARTA (JP): Fifty-three-year-old Pudji Astuti is not ashamed
to acknowledge that her success in the bureaucracy, --she is at
present a spokesperson for the Ministry of Manpower-- is thanks
to Golkar.

As soon as she entered the civil service, she got her name
registered as a Golkar member -- an eventual "must" under the
Soeharto New Order government. Since then she has voted for the
political grouping four times.

"Over the 20 years of my career in the civil service, I have
been promoted five times," she told The Jakarta Post. She said
that she deserved it because she has been highly loyal to both
Golkar and her superiors.

Although she attributes her success to her loyalty to Golkar,
now she supports the strengthening public opinion that a civil
servant should be free to affiliate to any political party they
like.

"Making civil servants loyal to Golkar is the New Order's
sin," she said.

She is not alone in pushing the idea that the government
should scrap its notorious "monoloyalty" policy, meaning that all
civil servants must support Golkar, the legacy of the
authoritarian New Order government.

The over five million-strong civil service has indeed been one
of Golkar's main pillars. But following Soeharto's fall in May
last year, the Habibie administration has been under pressure to
"free" civil servants and reinstate their political rights,
especially as far these concern choosing political parties.

In the ongoing deliberation of a political bill in the House
of Representatives, all of the four factions but Golkar agreed
that civil servants should be neutral in any political context.
For that purpose, they maintain that civil servants should be
barred from holding a leadership position in any political party.

Human rights

Golkar officials argue that banning civil servants from
becoming party leaders is tantamount to violations of human
rights. Other parties say that state employees should be loyal to
the public, not to Golkar.

Interestingly, the government -- which has always sided with
Golkar on crucial issues, also maintains that civil servants
should be politically neutral in order to provide better public
service.

After heavy pressure from all quarters, Golkar has eventually
given up with some apparent political "compensations" from the
other factions.

Asal Barani Sagala, 45, a staffer in the security department
at the Jakarta administration, said that civil servants and ABRI
(Armed Forces) members should be pushed out of the political
arena because they were supposed to serve the state, not a
particular party.

"Civil servants should be barred from being involved in
politics because they are state employees. This prohibition
should be imposed not only because of Golkar's past mistakes but
also because of the nature of their duties."

The government is yet to revoke a 1976 regulation which
requires all civil servants to become Golkar members. The rule
makes it obligatory for any civil servant wanting to lend their
support to another political organization that they should first
obtain permission from their superiors, something which is nigh
on impossible.

ABRI, which has played a dominant role in politics during the
Soeharto 32-year rule has also showed its support for the idea
that civil servants should be politically neutral.

Lt. Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, chief of Armed Forces
Territorial Affairs, pointed out that a 1974 law on servicemen
assumes that both civil servants and ABRI members constitute a
neutral group in the bureaucracy.

"We should respect the legislation," he said.

Djufrie Asmoredjo, chairman of the United Development Party
(PPP) faction in the House's Working Committee which deliberates
the political parties bill, said it would be "irrational,
baseless and unfair" to maintain the "monoloyalty" policy in this
reform era.

Constitutional law experts have also voiced their support for
the proposal that civil servants should be freed from political
interests.

They say that Golkar has for decades abused them in order to
win every single election since the 70s.

Sri Sumantri, professor of constitutional law at the
University of Indonesia, said that there were no laws barring
civil servants from participating in politics but the 1974 law on
the civil service suggests that their loyalty should go to the
ruling party.

"So it is only logical that it is made clear that civil
servants are politically neutral," he said, adding that most
democratic countries have also defended their servicemen's
neutrality in politics.

Another constitutional law expert, Harun Alrasid, also attacks
Golkar for attempting to keep civil servants on its turf.

"The political bills should be deliberated by a House whose
members are elected by a fair and free general election so that
their independence from short-term political interests is
ensured," he said.

Harun denounced Golkar's argument in favor of allowing civil
servants to participate in political parties in the name of human
rights, saying Golkar might lose the great support from the civil
service it has enjoyed over the past five general elections.

"Seen from the political point of view, Golkar has its own
interests in defending the civil servants' role in politics
because a bigger part of Golkar functionaries are civil servants
and Golkar has a part of its financial sources in the state
budget.

J. Kristiadi, a political expert from the Centre for Strategic
and International Studies (CSIS), called on the government to
lift all laws requiring civil servants to support Golkar.

He proposed that the Civil Servants Corps should hold a
congress to decide whether or not its members should be allowed
to be involved in politics.

According to Feisal Tamin, the Korpri chairman, Korpri in the
near future will hold its national congress to assert its
political stance on his organization's neutrality.

"We will convene as soon as the government issues a regulation
on civil servants," he said.

Feisal says as far as it concerns the bill now under debate in
the House, the government's stand on the civil servants is clear.

Whatever the future law states about the positions of civil
servants, their political role will remain an important issue.