The purpose of bureaucracy

The purpose of bureaucracy

The citizens of Surabaya have to meet 14 requirements to be eligible for an identity card. In West Java, textile mills have to pay 36 kinds of levies to be allowed to operate. Both issues have been widely discussed in the media in the past few days.

At the end of last week yet another issue emerged. Raising the fees people have to pay to get their civil concerns looked after has been suggested. The measure is to be tried in Jakarta first, and then possibly extended to all cities in Indonesia. In Jakarta, for example, it has been proposed that the fee to process an ID card be raised from Rp 1,000 to Rp 3,000 due to the processing system, which has been modernized by a private sector business working with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Bureaucracies are supposed to implement regulations to allow life in the country to proceed in an orderly manner and so that people can live their lives in peace. But what has our experience been? Dealing with the bureaucracy has become synonymous with difficulty.

Before people even begin to approach a government employee, they often feel apprehensive, confused or even afraid of the complicated and aggravating process they are about to encounter. Fear is felt because people are not dealing with a bureaucracy which serves, but rather with power holders who decide whether or not people can accomplish whatever they set out to do.

-- Kompas, Jakarta