Power concentrated in bureaucracy: Professor
Power concentrated in bureaucracy: Professor
JAKARTA (JP): Political power in Indonesia is too concentrated in the hands of the bureaucracy and this has been one of the sources of problems in the country, an economic professor said yesterday.
Wan Usman of the University of Indonesia said the strength of the bureaucracy is not matched by those of the political parties who have the job of checking the power of the administration.
"The end result is that waste and collusion become uncontrollable by outside powers," Usman said in a scientific oration at the National Resilience Institute.
He said the bureaucracy has become very powerful in Indonesia because it has been entrusted with the duty of planning and carrying out the national development program.
"The role played by the military in development should be seen as an extension of the bureaucratic hands in maintaining its effectiveness," said the head of the university's post-graduate study on national resilience.
"In the beginning, military intervention was accepted with open arms because it helped to preserve a fragile balance, to maintain national stability or counter external threats to national security. But once the situation is safe then its role must change accordingly," he said.
He added that although nobody questions the socio-political role of the Indonesian Armed Forces, the concept is constantly reviewed to ensure harmonious relations between the government, the military and the people.
Wan Usman, who also lectures at the Open University, in his paper identified a number of central issues in Indonesia's development program. One of them is the political condition.
The oration was held in a ceremony to mark the National Resilience Institute's 30th anniversary as well as the completion of the renovation of the institute's headquarters.
The institute, a branch of the Ministry of Defense and Security, is regarded as the military's think-tank, providing suggestions and drafting concepts on strategic matters.
It also runs leadership courses for young and upcoming leaders in the military as well as civilian organizations. Since its establishment on May 20, 1965, the institute has produced more than 7,000 graduates.
Wan Usman said that although the bureaucracy has succeeded in ensuring national stability for a relatively long period of time, history and the experiences of other countries show that destruction becomes inevitable if the process of concentrated political power continues unabated.
Any study on the political aspects of national resilience should look at the trend of where the bureaucracy is heading, whether it is becoming more democratic or authoritarian, he said.
He warned that the bureaucracy would reach a critical point if it failed to maintain the momentum of development, to give more autonomy to the regions, to carry out restructuring, and to stop the corruption, waste and abuses of power.
"Failure to stop all four factors above would eventually bring about the end of the New Order administration," he said.
The New Order is the term used to describe President Soeharto's administration, while the Old Order is associated with his predecessor Sukarno. (rms)