What is public service?

What is public service?

To serve or be served, that is the question state employees
and officials should be asking. The perennial question was raised
once again by President Soeharto on Monday when he presented
awards and trophies to various government agencies for their
service to the public.

The President underlined the need for greater professionalism
and a streamlined bureaucracy. But above all, he stressed the
need for state officials to change their attitude, from one that
desires to be served by the public to one that actually serves
it. State officials, he said, should become trustworthy public
servants.

It is hard to believe that our bureaucratic machine has barely
changed since the Dutch colonial period. In those days, state
employees were an extension of the Dutch monarchy. Their chief
role was to exact dues from the local populace and to keep them
under control. They were never meant to become civil servants in
the real and modern sense of the term. By the very nature of
their role they expected to be served by the public.

While such an attitude was acceptable under a monarchy, it
clearly is not in a republic. After 51 years of independence,
this attitude not only remains but appears to have become more
entrenched.

Under the New Order administration the four-million strong
civil service has become a powerful political entity, especially
following the alliance of Korpri (the association of state
employees) and Golkar, the ruling political group. Such a
political alliance perpetuates the perception that state
officials are part of the ruling elite.

In common Indonesian usage the equivalent of "civil service"
(pelayanan sipil) is not recognized and thus the term "public
servants" (pelayan masyarakat) is rarely heard. The word pelayan
is considered derogatory and is reserved for restaurant waiters
or domestic helpers. Instead, government workers are referred to
as pegawai negeri (state employees) or pejabat negeri (state
officials).

Even the public has come to believe that state officials
should be served. Bribery or some kind of payment has become the
norm in everyday administrative dealings, from obtaining an
identity card to the larger undertaking of securing a business
permit. Don't ever expect to get anything done without paying
these dues, some of them official but most of them not. Recent
allegations by foreign research agencies that Indonesia is one of
the most corrupt countries in the world are not far off the mark.

The present condition can no longer be maintained, certainly
not in an era of globalization and increasing competition. The
business community has been grumbling that illegal levies are
undermining their competitiveness abroad and at home. And because
of their growing political clout, businesses are finally being
listened to. The government has promised to do something, and
hopefully it will also look at the levies imposed on common
people if it decides to take action.

As President Soeharto said in his speech, our administrative
system and procedures must be improved, but it is the mentality
that needs changing the most.

Adopting a different attitude will take time, especially since
it has become ingrained in society. But we need to start
somewhere. Referring to our public employees as pelayan
masyarakat (public servants) would probably make a good start.