Govt to issue ruling on civil servants rights today
Govt to issue ruling on civil servants rights today
JAKARTA (JP): The government is set to issue on Tuesday a
decree that will "ensure" civil servants' neutrality. The ruling,
a result of weeks of haggling among House factions, will end once
and for all the deadlocked deliberation on the political bills in
time for the Jan. 28 deadline.
Director General of Public Administration and Regional
Autonomy Ryaas Rasyid on Monday, citing an agreement between the
government and the House of Representatives' Working Committee
deliberating the bill on political parties, said the decree was
to be issued on Tuesday.
"The political bills are scheduled to be endorsed on Jan. 28,"
he added.
Ryaas said the new regulation "guarantees" the 4.1 million
civil servants' neutrality. Out of respect for their political
rights, however, it will not ban them from entering political
parties, he said.
The decree is considered by the government to be a compromise
for the two contending factions in the House. The dominant Golkar
had demanded that civil servants be allowed to join political
parties, citing human rights reasons.
The bureaucrats were in the past Golkar's staunchest
supporters in winning five consecutive general elections.
The United Development Party (PPP), leery of past
manipulations of civil servants by Golkar, fought against the
motion. In this case, the PPP was supported by the government
representatives, the Armed Forces (ABRI) and the Indonesian
Democratic Party (PDI).
The stalemate had at once stage threatened the deliberation of
the bill on political parties, which is expected to lay the
groundwork for the June 7 elections.
"Civil servants are in principle neutral, regardless of their
rank. They are allowed to be members and functionaries of
political parties only if they take three years unpaid leave, or
quit their job," he said.
He said civil servants who took the unpaid leave were freed of
their daily tasks and positions. During their absence, they were
barred from doing anything relating to their tasks in the
bureaucracy.
The government and House factions eventually agreed to drop
the issue from the draft law and, instead, cover it in the
government regulation whose contents are expected to be in
accordance with the 1974 Law on Civil servants.
"Neither will the new ruling contradict the 1976 presidential
decree which bars government officials from being active in
political parties, including Golkar," he said.
"According to the presidential decree, government officials
are obliged to get leave from their superiors if they want to
participate in political parties," he said. (rms)