Today I and my friends (Danni, Zainal and Pak Euku) have a great opportunity to attend seminar organised by The Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS) National University of Malaysia on a topic of PROMOTING TRUST IN GOVERNMENT : A CASE STUDY FROM INDONESIA by Prijono Tjiptoherijanto, Professor Of Economics at the University of Indonesia, Depok. Prof Prijono highlighted that the civil service is analogous to a moving wheel that is able to empower all the resources possessed by a government in order to achieve certain goals, targets or missions so that its people may prosper. Given this context civil sercice reform is badly need in Indonesia at the resent time-especially in institutional and moral character?
The success of government is heavily dependent on the character of its civil service. The Indonesia civil service is considered slow, lacking transparency, unaccountable, short on initiative and sometimes corrupt. At the same time, good governance has become the main pillar of efforts to overcome competition in an increasingly globalised world.The success or failure of democratic reform in Indonesia is a key question for Indonesia itself and for the surrounding region. Although Indonesia's transition to democracy holds out the promise of good governance, this cannot be taken for granted .
Main barriers to change of good governance in civil service are :
a. Poor Leadership
b. Wider Corruption Practice
c. Poverty and Unemployment
d. Colonial Mentality
Forces behind the need for good governance:
a. The role of government has changed overtime;
b. Government policies must be adhered to enable transparency and accountability; and
c. Bureaucracy, especially the civil service must interact with civil society and the private sector
Crucial Characteristic as the key:
a. Leadership to ensure the implementation of any change programme;
b. Effective communication to ensure common understanding;and
c. Formal structure is needed for a better implementation
An independent judiciary, a free press, and a vibrant civil society and important components of good governance. They balance the power of governments, and they hold them accountable for delivering better services, creating jobs, and improving living standards. Some countries can achieve growth for many years without all of those factors. Indeed, Indonesia's history in the 1970s and 1980s is an illustration of that. But the devastating economic crisis that followed here shows how fragile growth can be when institutions that keep governments accountable, transparent, and responsible, are systematically weakened.
To conclude, enforcement alone will not cure corruption. How much we do and how much progress we make depends on the desire of both governments and civil society to create the right setting for sound, strong, sustainable development. The greatest changes come when people's ideas change, and in many countries, people are no longer as tolerant of corruption as they were in the past. A growing middle-class that is independent of government increasingly demands better performance from government. Expanding social safety nets can make even poor citizens less dependent on traditional powerful patrons. And the good news here in Indonesia is that the social and economic achievements of the last 40 years have created demand for government that works. The people of Indonesia recognize that with transparent and accountable governance they stand a better chance of reducing corruption, of improving their quality of life, and of securing a better future for their children.
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