President frustrated by poor bureaucracy
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja and Annastashya Emmanuelle, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Frustrated by the performance of the government's civil servants, President Megawati Soekarnoputri urged on Monday government officials to get out and check reports firsthand rather than remaining desk-bound while making decisions that affect the people's welfare.
"I have been leading a government which I think is like trash because bureaucrats only want to receive good news," Megawati said in an off-the-cuff speech at the opening of a meeting of the office of the state minister for administrative reforms, held at Hotel Indonesia here.
The President said that government officials should stop making reports which were intended to please their superiors, a long-standing habit which Megawati admitted had hampered her administration's efforts to help the country recover from crisis.
It was not the first time Megawati expressed her disappointment with the performance of the civil service. The President had warned that she would dismiss all government officials who could not support her administration, but there have been no reports yet of such a punishment actually occurring.
"I spoke with Vice President Hamzah Haz this morning and we had a good laugh, because there was a report on the existence of a forest in a certain area which (we know to be) nothing but bushes," Megawati said.
"It will be better if the officials provide facts, even 'bad news', so we can find solutions to problems."
Many have expressed doubts that Megawati would be able to reform the bureaucracy due to the fact that she is not familiar with the state bureaucracy that was built by former president Soeharto.
In her speech, Megawati also underscored the importance of improving the quality of this country's human resources in a bid to restore the tarnished image of public servants.
"The bureaucracy has come under fire for its arrogance, its overweight structure, corruption and lack of professionalism. Frankly, it sounds like a mockery of the system," she said.
The meeting on administrative reform will last until Wednesday.