Susilo calls on Lemhanas to come down to earth
Susilo calls on Lemhanas to come down to earth
Rendi A. Witular, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Perhaps for the first time in the 40 years of its existence, the
National Resilience Institute (Lemhannas) got a rap across the
knuckles from its chief supervisor, the President.
Speaking in his address to attendees at a Lemhannas course,
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the institute tended to
conduct theoretical research and studies that had no practical
application.
"I want Lemhannas to stop producing complicated output that
can be used neither by the government nor the public. The
institute must think of simple but applicable research and
study," said Susilo, who is a graduate of the institute.
Lemhannas organizes annual courses for candidates for top
government and military posts, who discuss various matters and
conduct research during their month-long attendance.
The government has in fact heeded recommendations proposed by
the institute quite often, including the changes to the general
elections system and the national defense strategy that places
priority on securing national borders.
During the ceremony, Susilo emphasized the need for Lemhannas
to seriously study how Indonesia could cope with the changing
world, such as the clash of civilizations and the trend toward
regionalism.
"Lemhannas should now start studying possible key roles that
Indonesia could play on regional fronts, and how we can influence
the world," he said.
Lemhannas Governor Ermaya Suriadinata considered the
President's criticism cause for introspection and promised it
would produce more work that benefited the public.
"We acknowledge that we have conducted a number of useless
studies in the past. But with the President's input, we will try
to improve our performance and make our output more useful to the
public," said Ermaya.
Critics have urged the government to dissolve the institute,
saying it is a waste of state funds.
Ermaya, however, rejected this, saying the institute was still
needed to help train future leaders and bureaucrats on
nationalism and leadership.
"Activities in the institute are not a waste of money at all.
It is still useful for those who will be taking up high
government positions," said Ermaya.
According to Ermaya, every year Lemhanas is allocated some Rp
16 billion (US$1.68 million) from the state budget for
development expenses, and Rp 35 billion for routine operational
expenditures.