Sweeping civil service reform the first step to good governance

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Tue, 06/19/2007 9:42 AM  |  Opinion

Prijono Tjiptoherijanto, Jakarta

Good governance has been an important issue over the last two decades. Good governance has become the new paradigm, replacing the old one in public administration developed by Max Webber. The conventional model of public administration of ""all about government"" has been replaced by a new one that involves the cooperation of three elements: government, civil society and the business sector.

This changing role of public administration can be seen from the reform in the field of human resources management or civil service administration, which has been shaped by three main models, which are: (a) public administration; (b) public management; and (c) governance. While public administration can be defined as all the processes, organizations and individuals associated with carrying out laws and other rules adopted or issued by the legislature, executive and courts, public management is a global reform movement that redefines the relationship between government and society.

Good governance, according to the World Bank's definition, entails sound public sector management (efficiency, effectiveness and economy), accountability, the exchange and free flow of information (transparency) and a legal framework for development (justice, respect for human rights and liberties).

The role of civil servants, or human resources in bureaucracy, is still indispensable. The government bureaucracy acts as a key actor that controls the holding of a government. Bureaucracy can be illustrated as a moving wheel that empowers all resources possessed by a government to achieve the goals, targets or missions that are meant to be accomplished by a nation; that is, to help its people prosper.

Therefore, the role of bureaucracy, or civil servants, in the development of good governance is a crucial factor to achieve such tasks, especially in the era of globalization.

As in many countries in Asia, public administration in Indonesia is undergoing considerable change and reform.

The implementation of good governance in Indonesia is mostly influenced by the external factors, which is the globalization process, and internal forces or the so-called ""reform era"" that started in May 1998 soon after the fall of former president Soeharto.

A major challenge for countries undergoing rapid change is the establishment of an effective and socially responsible bureaucracy or, in other words, an efficient and innovative civil servant. These characteristics are badly needed to support the emerging of a good governance in Indonesia.

In a report to the Indonesian government in 2001, the World Bank recommended a civil service reform strategy should include changes to the incentive system, size of the civil service, recruitment, performance management, renumeration and probity.

Without going into detail for every aspect of the reforms, two main changes, namely institution building and morale or ethical conduct, are considered as important factors in civil service reform in Indonesia at present.

In order to have an effective and efficient public service, most governments have developed special institutions in charge of human resources management. In some countries this body is called the Civil Service Commission (CSC) or Public Service Commission (PSC).

The Indonesian government has yet to set up a PSC or CSC, even though Law No. 43/1999 stipulates that a CSC (Komisi Kepegawaian Negara) shall be established.

In countries such as Indonesia, where the role of the civil service is still a key actor in government activities, sometimes government employees are considered also as ""community leaders"" (panutan in Bahasa Indonesia). In this sense sometimes a civil servant is expected to do many things in the community where he or she lives.

In this role as a ""community leader"" there is a primary and important value which is expected from government employees, which is ""morality"". Morality does not only mean that civil servants have to be good in terms of their actions, but they also have to avoid irregularities and always obey the rules in conducting their activities.

In order to become ""respectable community leaders"", government employees have to establish the image of ""clean and persistent authority"". Government employees are demanded to improve their service to the public through professional, competent and honest actions. They should give high priority to honesty, responsibility, integrity and bravery in their daily activities and routine duties.

Human resource development for government officers starts from the recruitment stage until the end of their service, which is the retirement stage. In the recruitment process, job analysis and requirement analysis should be done before the recruitment is conducted. Furthermore, this recruitment process should be fair and open in order to have more opportunity to select the best candidates.

The next step in human resources development for public servants is education and training for candidates. This activity covers physical as well as mental training and should be given regularly at every level of service. The military system has been using this kind of training system for a long time already. The objective and selective recruitment process, combined with integrated and systematic education and training components during the service period, might result in increased quality of government employees.

The issuance of Law No. 22 /1999 on decentralization (local autonomy) opened up the possibility of public service reform in Indonesia. However, high quality public service, as is society's hope, is still a far-reaching goal realizing the direction of reform which is processed up to the present time.

As in any reform, the need for a strong and very determined leadership is the crucial factor; it leaves a big question for Indonesia. While good governance becomes the main pillar for overcoming competition in the global world, reform in the civil service in Indonesia in order to have a clean and efficient bureaucracy is a must.

However, nobody can predict when ""honest, productive, creative, responsible and professional civil servants"" will appear. All one can say is Insya Allah (as God's will).

The writer is a professor of economics at the University of Indonesia. This article is abridged from a presentation he will make at a seminar on bureaucratic reform in the age of globalization, organized by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies on June 19.

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