T

he Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry will adopt the Jakarta administration'€™s civil servant payment and open recruitment system as a model in the implementation of Law No. 5/2014 on state civil servants.

The new law, expected to bring about massive reform with breakthroughs such as an open recruitment system, has not seen nationwide implementation pending the issuance of a regulation to implement the law.

'€œIn the future, Jakarta could be a model for other provincial administrations. The payment system [in the city administration] favors those who work hard, not those who have a high position,'€ Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi said at City Hall on Tuesday.

He also applauded the open recruitment system for echelon positions, saying that it favored those who had high integrity and a good work ethic. '€œThis will be a good example for others,'€ he said.

Critics say that the large rise in civil servant salaries will not necessarily guarantee clean governance. However, Yuddy said the system did not violate the law and could be implemented in other administrations. '€œThe guide on budget deliberation from the Home Affairs Ministry stipulates that employee spending in regional governments should account for a maximum of 30 percent of the total budget, while employee spending in Jakarta is only 24 percent of the total budget,'€ he argued.

This year, the city has hiked the take-home pay of its civil servants, with some enjoying a 200 to almost 300 percent increase, and enacted a regulation that will determine the amount of take-home pay.

In an effort to conduct a massive overhaul of its bureaucracy, the city held open recruitments for all its middle-ranked echelon positions last year. In the open recruitment, participants undertook a series of tests, which included a written exam, a psychological evaluation and an interview with a panel of higher officials.

The participants were also assessed by a team of senior civil servants and Ahok.

This year, the city will conduct open recruitment for its higher echelons.

Ahok said last year'€™s open recruitment process still had some loopholes as seen in the number of reports of extortion. He insisted he was determined to improve the system this year.

The governor also said that he had taken part in drafting the law during his short stint as a House member in Commission II overseeing regional government and autonomy.

'€œI took part in drafting the law, so I understand its substance and I know what to change in the city administration. Although it might take a while, I know we can reform bureaucracy, especially in Jakarta,'€ he said.

He cited Article 77 clause 6 of the law, which stipulates that a civil servant whose performance evaluation does not meet expectations will face administrative sanctions up to termination of employment. The regulation, he said, had been implemented in the open recruitment system.

'€œThis will bring about massive changes in bureaucracy in Jakarta,'€ Ahok promised.