What is wrong?
Could it be that there is something wrong with policy coordination within the government? So many times within the span of just one week this rather distressing question arose as different cabinet ministers aired what seemed to be a different stance on certain issues.
The first instance occurred when last week Minister of Information Harmoko reacted strongly to the newly issued government regulation which, among other things, would open the door to direct foreign investments in the mass media. It was then revealed, as Harmoko himself admitted, that there had been poor coordination between cabinet officials as "nobody asked to consult me before the new policy was announced".
Some cabinet officials were said to have expressed surprise that a number of articles in the new regulation could be in conflict with already existing laws, and no less a person than the Minister of Justice was reported to have conceded that in certain aspects and judged from a purely legal point of view the new regulation, known as Government Regulation No.20/1994, could not be used. In the second case, many observers were baffled yesterday by differing statements coming from two officials regarding the government's stance on the situation in the Toba Batak Protestant Church (HKBP), which is at present divided into two conflicting camps, one led by J.W.T. Simanjuntak and the other by S.A.E. Nababan.
While Minister of Home Affairs Yogie S.M. told the Commission II of the House of Representatives (DPR) that the government only recognizes the HKBP board led by bishop J.W.T. Simanjuntak, Armed Forces (ABRI) Chief Gen. Feisal Tanjung told the House's Commission I that the government remains neutral and does not favor either camp in the dispute.
On top of that, one should not overlook the difference of view between State Minister for Research and Technology B.J. Habibie and Minister of Finance Mar'ie Muhammad with regard to the cost of thirty-nine second-hand warships from Germany. Although Habibie, in a hearing with the House of Representatives on Tuesday, played down his differences with Finance Minister Mar'ie Muhammad, the fact that the budget had to be lowered seems to indicate that differences did indeed occur.
The most simple explanation is obviously that, at least in those cases mentioned, coordination must have been wanting among the various cabinet ministries concerned. To many among us this may not sound like such a big flaw. After all lack of coordination is not at all uncommon in this country, inside the government or outside.
To the man-in-the-street, whose well-being depends in so many aspects on the policies taken by the government, however, all this is of course rather distressing. This is all the more true because impressions of bickering and rivalry, whether justified or not, are often difficult to avoid in cases such as these.
In short, considering the undesirable effects which such dissonance in the highest echelons of our state bureaucracy can have on the various segments of our society, we believe that the government should do all it can to avoid similar cases in the future. As Indonesians gear themselves up for take-off towards self-sustained growth, it does not seem too much to expect that efficiency will become a greater part of our way of life. This is true for all of us. But no need to say, it is particularly true for those who are in positions of leadership and authority.