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.