Gamawan Fauzi, pioneering regent

Gamawan Fauzi, pioneering regent

Syofiardi Bachyul Jb, The Jakarta Post, Padang

Although corruption by officials remains at endemic levels throughout the country, one prominent West Sumatran leader is bucking the trend.

Solok Regent Gamawan Fauzi has won an award for fighting corruption -- he, along with Forum of Concern for West Sumatra coordinator Saldi Isra, is a recipient of this year's Bung Hatta Anti-Corruption Award.

While it is almost impossible to find corruption-free bureaucrats in Indonesia today, let alone public officials striving to rid their agencies of graft, Gamawan Fauzi has become a familiar figure to the West Sumatra community as a straight arrow aiming for good governance and clean government.

"What I've done is nothing unusual; it is our prevailing circumstances that are anomalous," Gamawan told The Jakarta Post after winning the award.

Born in Solok on November 9, 1957, Gamawan Fauzi graduated from Andalas University Law School, Padang, in 1982, before commencing his civil service career in the West Sumatran provincial administration.

His position as chief spokesman at the secretariat of the regional administration led to his election later as regent of Solok for the 1995-2000 term, winning reelection in 2000.

While governing the regency, Gamawan Fauzi earned his master's degree in management after postgraduate study at Padang State University, West Sumatra, in 2002.

In phases, Gamawan introduced fundamental policies to create good governance in the regency, beginning with one-stop licensing in 2000. Thirty-two licenses, including construction permits, which used to take months to handle at an indeterminate cost, can now be obtained within nine days, with all fees transparent.

Licensing services can even be provided by mail at a postage rate of only Rp 2,000 for delivery, yet this postal facility, according to the regent, has not yet been utilized much by the local community.

"Regency officials are not allowed to become further involved in the licensing process; I don't serve people coming to my house for licenses and forbid my staff from doing so, he said.

From 2002 onward, he abolished project honorariums, which were paid to regency employees belonging to regional committees, including the regent, although they were permissible under the law. Totaling Rp 14 billion in Solok, the money was enjoyed by only a few.

The funds that accrued from the abolished allowances have now been converted into financial support by the regency for all of its 7,000 civil servants -- distributed proportionately according to the position of the personnel concerned.

"The decision has deprived me of millions of rupiah in extra income, but it is a fairer distribution and puts a greater priority on the performance of routine civil service duties rather than handling projects," Gamawan said.

Subsequently, Gamawan also issued a transparency regulation to prevent executive and legislative officials from getting involved in regional projects.

All projects are now based on public proposals brought up through meetings of non-governmental organizations working in collaboration with village-level institutions, but excluding regency offices.

All ranks of the regency's personnel are also prohibited from giving donations to any party and receiving contributions in any form while on duty. His strict disciplinary measures have, over the last four years, resulted in the dismissal of eight employees, with 23 others relieved of their posts or demoted.

The regent said his policies, which departed from previous rules, had not caused any staff or public complaint: All were based on consensus after prior discussion on their excesses when applied."

Gamawan's most advanced step was the signing of the Solok Regency Integrity Pact (PIKS) on November 11, 2003, which was supported by Transparency International Indonesia (TII) and Indonesian Procurement Watch (IPW).

Solok has become Indonesia's first regency to sign the integrity pact, which controls the public and private sector in accordance with principles of good governance, with the regional supervisory board as the central control.

The Muhammadiyah Islamic educational background of Gamawan's parents considerably influenced his attitude toward life, he said. Dahlan Saleh Dt. Bandaro Basa, his father, was head of the Ministry of Education and Culture's education and public information inspectorate in Mataram from 1956 to 1966, and Sofiah Amin, his mother, was a teacher.

"My father strictly instilled in me the importance of religion and worship so that religious values have become my daily guide," Gamawan said, adding that a leader should be the first to account for his deeds in the hereafter.

"When I was nominated for the office of regent, I asked for my mother's consent: She told me to ask myself whether I would benefit a lot of people; otherwise I should just leave," he said. Gamawan said his antigraft stance had been limited to only himself before he had assumed the post.

"Like a tiny speck (of cleanliness) in the corrupt system, I had no idea of how to effect change in policy until I rose to this position, which has enabled me gradually to transform my administration," noted the father of three, who is also known as something of a bookworm.

He acknowledges the difficulty of eradicating corruption in Indonesia and believes it could take 10 years to 15 years to eliminate. It has become firmly entrenched since the New Order regime, and "is now a matter of long-term character rebuilding," he said.

The regent, who likes singing, has produced two albums of modern songs in the local Minang language. He has frequently reminded his staff of the need to work honestly, as taught by Islam, and while the opportunity exists, to avoid regretting it later after retirement.

He once asked TII activists what could motivate people to shun corruption: patriotism or a stringent system?

"We know that our system is lax and the function of religion is, in my view, one of the main driving forces in the fight against corruption," he said.