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.