Ministerial decree on Korpri functionaries under fire

Ministerial decree on Korpri functionaries under fire

JAKARTA (JP): The new ministerial decree awarding structural
ranks to functionaries of the Civil Servants Corps has sparked
fierce criticism from major factions at the House of
Representatives.

House Deputy Speaker Soetardjo Soerjoguritno asked the
government on Friday to revoke the decree issued by State
Minister of Administrative Reforms Freddy Numberi because it
lacked any legal basis.

"Korpri cannot be treated as a state agency. This could
inspire other organizations representing employees in state-owned
companies to ask for similar treatment," said Soetardjo, who
represents the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle in the
House leadership.

He regretted Korpri chairman Faisal Tamin's statement on the
decree, saying this showed he ignored the protests of civil
servants unhappy with the government's recent decision to
increase the structural allowances of government officials by up
to 2,000 percent.

"I don't know whether the Korpri chairman is concerned about
the lives of civil servants and how difficult it is for them to
live," he said.

Faisal said on Thursday there was nothing to be worry about
regarding the decree.

It was signed on Feb. 1.

He insisted that Korpri functionaries deserve structural ranks
and salary because Korpri is part of the bureaucracy.

According to the decree, Faisal, also a former secretary-
general of the Home Affairs Ministry, would earn a structural
allowance worth Rp 9 million per month.

Chief of the Institute of State Personnel Administration
Sofian Effendi told The Jakarta Post on Thursday the government
would revise the decree.

Soetardjo urged the House to summon the minister to explain
the controversial item.

But he suspected that Freddy didn't know much about it, and
assumed that a certain group had conspired to push the decree
through.

"There is something truly rotten going on in the government,
illustrated beautifully by the release of the decree," he said.

House Speaker Akbar Tandjung said on Friday that he would
check further on the decree, although he had apparently agreed to
it.

"There are not many functionaries in Korpri. But we must study
it further," Akbar who is also the chairman of the Golkar Party,
said.

Bachtiarchamsyah, a member of the United Development Party
(PPP) faction at the House said the decree had sparked protests
among the members of the commission.

"Most members in our faction have been shocked by the
controversial decree because with the decree the government
includes Korpri in the bureaucracy," he said.

He also stated that he was confident the controversy would
create a new wave of protests from many sides if the government
did not revoke it.

Bachtiarchamsyah labeled the decree unfair for Korpri is not a
state agency and is not subordinated to the bureaucracy.

"The decree is very strange in that it gives ranks to Korpri
functionaries. They do not work for the government. Civil
servants who are recruited to serve the public must be separated
from Korpri which they, and not the government, have
established," he said.

Achmad Sumargono, chairman of the Crescent Star Party (PBB),
joined the chorus of criticism, saying the enforcement of the
decree could deepen the social disparity in Indonesian society.

"This decree is proof of the government's lack of sensitivity
to the country's social problems," he said, warning that the
decree could worsen the social unrest caused by the government's
unpopular policies. (jun/rms)