What is wrong?
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.