Govt bureaucrats told to serve people better
Govt bureaucrats told to serve people better
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto urged government bureaucrats
yesterday to be more sensitive toward people, so as not to treat
them merely as objects who should obey their commands.
In a speech at the induction of 905 graduates from state-run
Public Administration Institute (STPDN) in Sumedang, West Java,
as junior government officials, the President said the young
civil servants must be more willing to listen to people's
aspirations as part of the nation's supreme sovereignty.
"As members of the civil servants corps, you are obliged to
serve and protect all of society," Soeharto said, adding that
they should also respect different cultural, religious and
traditional customs.
STPDN was designed to train future public administration
leaders, with most graduates working at the Ministry of Home
Affairs.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, Indonesia has
4,044,703 civil servants.
Unfortunately, bureaucracy is often marred by allegations of
widespread corruption. Issues such as rampant corruption and poor
public service were raised by campaigners during May's general
election.
The annual report by Transparency International (TI), a non-
governmental organization based in Berlin, categorized Indonesia
last week as the 46th most corrupt nation out of 52 it surveyed.
State Minister of Administrative Reforms T.B. Silalahi
frequently upbraided "arrogant" public servants for poor service
standards.
Soeharto reminded the graduates, who will one day be chiefs of
villages, subdistricts, districts and provincial administrations,
that they would have to serve the public on the front line.
"Your success will depend on your sincerity and hard work to
boost people's welfare," he said.
President Soeharto annually attends the induction ceremony,
and similar treatment is given to graduates of the Armed Forces
Military Academy.
Soeharto also called on public servants yesterday to encourage
creativity in anticipation of the 21st century. "Initiative and
creativity will only develop when people are freed from fear," he
said.
"You are given authority to govern, but the power you have
must be based on prevailing laws," Soeharto said.
Yesterday's swearing-in ceremony was nearly affected by an
incident that occurred at the campus last Friday, when two
students and a security guard were injured in an alleged brawl.
The brawl took place between graduates and their juniors, who
appeared to take revenge against the graduates for earlier
incidents during the school year. (prb)