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his year'€™s commemoration of Independence Day will be rather politically charged as people'€™s energy and resources are still dealing with the recent presidential election in July.

I am of the belief that Independence Day we will observe on Sunday will be the best time to rejuvenate blusukan (unannounced visits), which have characterized president-elect Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo since he was the mayor of Surakarta, in order to identify problems and absorb people'€™s aspirations.

Blusukan should be championed as a national movement for several reasons. First of all such a movement would prevent the country'€™s modern management from falling into a personality cult.

Like it or not, Jokowi is undoubtedly an issue maker, trendsetter and media darling in the Indonesian political landscape.

Yet in the long run that will not contribute to a productive and healthy way of running the government since a cult personality would make job productivity more personal rather than systematic.

Second, it is believed that putting blusukan into practice across the nation would have a tremendous effect on the establishment of good governance in this country.

This is particularly true since nationally executed blusukan would inspire the development of candidates for governor, mayor and regent positions as well as legislative council posts.

As a matter of fact, many local leaders preceded Jokowi in conducting blusukan, but regrettably many went unnoticed considering their distance from central power and mass media on one side and their commitment to sincerity in service on the other.

With blusukan turning into a national way of serving people by ruling the elite throughout the country, it will become so open to the public that the tendency of image politics will not develop.

Central to image politics is the elite'€™s fallacious belief that showing off, including blusukan, is simply limited to campaign periods. Genuine blusukan assert that service and dedication to people do not end once an election is over and power is in hand.

In an attempt to make blusukan come alive, the practice should be perceived from a cultural point of view. Many people suspect blusukan are often treated as political moves to achieve and maintain power, rather than a cultural process.

It is a different story if blusukan are seen through a cultural lens. According to Minang wisdom, a leader is one who is '€œdidahulukan selangkah, ditinggikan seranting'€ (one step ahead and one twig higher). Having such characteristics, a leader obliges people through service and people show their loyalty in return.

Based on this perspective, blusukan manifest service in a wise top-down approach of leadership.

Top-down service, which is the core idea of blusukan, was reportedly conducted by the late Yogyakarta Sultan Hamengkubuwono IX quite often to connect people'€™s hearts and minds to their beloved king.

He often disguised himself as a commoner and talked to people directly, capturing and listening to their suffering, hardship and hope.

His pro-people approach was not a shallow political courtesy. He succeeded in making visitors feel comfortable given the city'€™s vibrant art scene, major centers of excellence and friendly locals.

Due to blusukan, there is supposed to be a collective belief that not everything a high-profile politician does is always wrong. Any good intention from kings, presidents, ministers, or governors should not be immediately refuted. Our culture teaches that impromptu visit result in people'€™s solidarity. This does not simply touch on multiple visits, or visit done incognito, but it also reflects management of devotion.

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to accelerate development and improve people'€™s welfare and safety. Yet, blusukan are typical of an Indonesian management style where a high-ranking official communicates directly with his people, listens to their grievances and monitors the development of projects undertaken by his administration.

Celebrating Independence Day requires countless leaders to dream impossible dreams and reach unreachable stars.

Leaders undertaking blusukan can be exclusive as well as inclusive people, with individual or social personalities. Despite the shortcomings, blusukan are very good news for Indonesia'€™s public management, putting no bureaucratic barriers between anyone, even those at the grassroots level.