Civil service is govt's 'political machine'

Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Vice President Jusuf Kalla called on members of the Indonesian Civil Servants Association (Korpri) across the country to comply with regulations set by the government, saying that the bureaucracy was the government's political machine.

"Civil servants are the government's political machine and should work in accordance with government regulations," Kalla said in front of hundreds of civil servants attending a ceremony marking Civil Servants Day at Bung Karno Sports Complex on Monday.

Kalla underlined that only with the strong support of civil servants could the government perform effectively.

"The success of the government very much depends on the performance of civil servants, who serve as the bureaucratic arms of the government," Kalla said.

During the Soeharto era, civil servants -- of which there are around four million in the country -- were often exploited to support the regime.

The large number of civil servants did not only serve as the bulk of voters for Soeharto's Golkar Party, but also as a political machine that ensured the party's victory in every election for 32 years.

Since the reform movement kicked off in 1998, civil servants have left politics and stayed neutral in every election.

During the ceremony, Kalla also said that the government was fully aware of the fact that the welfare of civil servants needed to be improved.

"The government realizes that we have to improve civil servants' welfare for them to perform well, but it can only be done if the country is in a better economic condition," he said.

He said that the government would continue to improve the remuneration system for civil servants, and that it would introduce a "reward-and-punishment system" in order to boost their performance.

During the ceremony, Korpri chairman Feisal Tamim said that he hoped the new government would maintain its policy of providing 13 months' salary for civil servants yearly.

"We hope that the policy will continue as the 13 months' salary means a great deal to civil servants," the former state minister of administrative reforms said.