Korpri must continue to exist

Korpri must continue to exist

From Suara Karya

There have recently been rumors that the Civil Servants Corps (Korpri) will be disbanded when Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono becomes president.

These rumors are groundless because whoever is president, Korpri must continue to exist.

The establishment of Korpri has its legal grounding in Presidential Decree No. 26/2000, which legalizes the articles of association and the standing orders of this organization, as passed in its fifth national conference in 1999. The articles of association of this organization emphasize that the president and the vice president serve as its chief adviser and deputy chief adviser. This stipulation implies that the president, as the head of state and government, and as the chief adviser of Korpri, will do his or her utmost to run the administration at the central and regional levels.

Former president Abdurrahman Wahid and President Megawati Soekarnoputri, in their addresses at ceremonies marking Korpri's anniversary in 2000 and in 2003, stressed that Korpri was a competent organization that could help realize good governance. The quality of the government will largely depend on government apparatuses, and the majority of members of government apparatuses are Korpri members.

Another reason why Korpri must continue to exist is that, in terms of member recruitment and organizational structure, Korpri, which was established in 1971, is the most suitable organization to accommodate the interests and aspirations of civil servants.

In this context, it must also be borne in mind that a decision to liquidate Korpri can be made only at the organization's ordinary or extraordinary national conference.

The president, in his capacity as the chief adviser of Korpri, has no authority to disband this organization. In the past, it was true that president Soeharto, as chairman of Korpri's board of patrons, had the authority to draw up policies for Korpri or intervene in the organization, because in those days the political rights of civil servants were reduced to mere loyalty to the government.

VALERY F. SETIAWAN

Bengkulu