Providing real services for the public

Providing real services for the public

Piet Soeprijadi, Jakarta

Graeme Macmillan, in his article Improving performance through
public service reform (The Jakarta Post, Aug. 23), outlined the
need for public service reform and made suggestions on how to
improve public sector management to lift Indonesia's economic,
social and environmental performance.

The article touched the real needs of the public.

People want to get to work and go home on time, yet they have
to struggle to reach and to board public buses. People want an
affordable, quality education for their children, yet they to
have to pay five times their salary to enroll their children into
a substandard school.

Drivers want a police force that helps the flow of traffic,
yet they have policemen who wait, hidden behind traffic lights,
to catch them as they run through a red light so as to collect
some pocket-money. When under great duress because of the
critical condition of a family member, people just want to be
received with kind and efficient attention by hospital staff, and
instead, they are rejected and sent home because they cannot pay
the outpatient fee.

Good businessmen want to do business properly, in accordance
with laws and regulations, yet they have to go through a number
of offices just to get a license, paying "fees" at every office.
Good taxpayers want to pay their taxes properly, yet they have to
deal with tax inspectors who come with very high penalties at the
ready for "private negotiations".

The list is endless. This is not public service, in which the
public is served -- instead, this is service by the public, in
which the public serve the so-called public servants.

History shows that fulfilling the above basic needs is not at
all simple. As Macmillan said, "The Public Service in Indonesia
is too big, too slow and too dysfunctional."

On the other hand, the best way to solve a simple problem is
to provide a simple solution.

The regents of Jembrana, Solok, Kebumen and Sidoarjo and the
mayors of Ambon and Malang are good examples of real public
servants, who have not only found simple solutions and
implemented them, but also showed exemplary behavior in their
work.

In Sidoarjo, the regental administration created an integrated
public service office for the public to procure licenses
according to a predetermined schedule, placing representatives of
all relevant offices together to handle administrative details.
In the case higher authorization is required, an internal courier
-- not the applicant -- brings the document to the appropriate
officials. This has speeded up the licensure process and has
eliminated the opportunity for corruption.

In Kebumen, the recruitment of school principals has been
restructured into a transparent procedure that involves the
public. This solution has also eliminated corruption, while
improving the odds of recruiting principals who serve the people.

However, these champions of public service reform are a
minority and their success stories are not widely known. In this
respect, the Jawa Pos Institute of Pro Autonomy -- which promotes
the innovation and implementation of best practices through in-
depth monitoring and competition between East Java regencies --
has made a solid effort as a social institution to encourage
public service reform.

Installing real public servants -- or real leaders -- who do
not stop at innovation but also lead by example, is another
simple and effective solution that reaches the root of the
problem. For example, Kebumen Regent Rustriningsih runs a daily,
30-minute radio talk show called Selamat Pagi Bupati (Good
morning, Mrs. Regent), in which xhe responds directly to
questions from the public and makes decisions to address their
complaints.

This is an effective means to tackle the most difficult public
service problem -- to change attitudes and mind-sets of the
people to one of trust that the government listens to its people.
The only way to achieve this is for the government to provide and
lead by example, show commitment, listen to the people and
fulfill its promises.

If a direct electoral system is applied to regional leaders
and regents, mayors and governors like the Sidoarjo, Jembrana and
Kebumen regents assume office, more than half of the country's
public service problems will be solved satisfactorily.

If the initiatives of the Jawa Pos Institute for Pro Autonomy
could be implemented on a national scale, public service reform
would be accomplished at a more rapid pace.

Of course, these are not enough. Efforts by regional
governments should be supported with sufficient resources and
proper policies by the central government -- policies that are
consistently applied, complementary and part of a comprehensive
long-term strategy for public service reform.

What we need is a simple solution for this seemingly complex
problem, along with examples of leadership. Only then, could we
expect real public service, through which people receive real
service.

The writer is Director of Administration for Partnership for
Governance Reform in Jakarta.