Good governance is our key concern

About a decade ago, when our public services became clogged with illegitimate levies, one seemingly magic expression rose to prominence: deregulation. Deregulation was thought to be able to solve all the problems standing in the way of efficiency and competitiveness. As a result of the easy procedures provided by deregulation, private banks mushroomed with little control. At the end of last year, the tempest broke out around us as banks that were wallowing in the bliss of deregulation had to be liquidated.

Then, even while we were still worshiping the idea of deregulation, we became aware of the need for debureaucratization. The understanding was that deregulation would never be able to promote efficiency and competition as long as the government continued to dominate all kinds of activity. Privatization became the jargon that defined the need for the government to entrust as much authority as was possible into private hands.

In the present climate of dissatisfaction over deregulation and debureaucratization, we now have a new idol: reformation. This word has now become almost as popular as globalization. The core of our problem, however, is actually whether we can bring political will to eradicate corruption and collusion by upholding the law without discrimination. As long as the law serves only the strong, deregulation and debureaucratization, or even reformation, will remain empty words. We are convinced that the present crisis would not have been as bad as it is now if we had been committed to the principle of good governance. Without this, reformation will be no more than an expression.

-- Media Indonesia, Jakarta