Jakarta – Secretary General of the Home Affairs Department, Suryatna Subrata, affirmed that of late it has been proven that non-objectivity is present in the induction of candidate civil servants in the sphere of the Department of Home Affairs.

"If for just the recruitment of employees, lubrication money is used, this will influence performance and dedication of the involved," said Suryatna moments after giving a speech at the Flag Ceremony on Monday (17/3) at the Office of the Department of Home Affairs, Jakarta.

Suryatna invited all employees in the sphere of the Department of Home Affairs to carry out evaluation and introspection at the end of budget year 1996/1997, both privately and collectively as the Civil Servants Corps of the Republic of Indonesia or as a work unit. "Is what we have done already or not yet in conformance with our position as servants of the state and public servants," said Suryatna.

Suryatna, who is also General Chairman of the Central Board of the Civil Servants Corps of the Republic of Indonesia, invited employees in the sphere of the Home Affairs Department, in case execution of their duties were now not yet successful and at maximum, to improve that in the next budget year.

Previously, after opening the All-Indonesia Work Conference on Home Affairs and Regional Government Civil Service, last Thursday (13/3) in Bali, Suryadi also admitted that the implementation of recruitment of candidate government employees, in the sphere of the Department of Home Affairs, was not objective, including the probable use of "lubrication money". Practices like this, according to him, almost occurred in every region in Indonesia.

Longtime symptom

Former Home Affairs Minister Rudini, in Live Opinion Discussion on Radio Trijaya FM together with President of the Government Science Institute Prof Dr M Ryaas Rasyid, admitted that the existence of "lubrication money" in the recruitment of candidate government employees is a longtime symptom. According to him this is related to the life of the civil servant both from the point of view of discipline, responsibility as well as the mentality of the civil servant himself.

"This is related to the welfare of the government employee. But this does not mean that when welfare is inadequate, insufficient discipline is condoned." said Rudini during a discussion guided by Andi F Loya on Monday (17/3) at The Executive Club, Hilton Hotel, Jakarta. Rudini added, that the life of the civil servant which is on an inadequate welfare level, due to low salaries, compelled them to look for additional livelihood. Rudini took as an example certain desks or counters, which were purposely created to make handling of affairs time-consuming, while actually one counter or desk was sufficient to conclude business.

To prevent occurrence of "lubricating money" and to improve the mentality of the civil servant, Rudini suggested improvement of the selection and recruitment pattern, and a modern administration system. "But the most important thing is to first of all put the human resources in order," said Rudini.

Rudini reminded that in order to prevent cases like "lubricating money", career development in the civil servant sphere must be clear. For instance, he said, avoid wrong placement of an employee in a certain position by not basing it on expertise. "Don't force placement for reasons of career development. This must be corrected," said Rudini.

Rudini suggested carrying out a mental reordering of civil servants towards having high discipline, namely by applying firm sanctions in case of transgressions. To that end the regulations on promotions and change of position must be firmly established. "It should be that those who perform well get higher positions, and those who underperform should be put aside," he said.

Ryaas Rasyid suggested to strengthen professional ethics to prevent the possibility of "lubricating money" from occurring as a result of collusion, corruption and nepotism in the sphere of the civil servant. According to him, not only the law should be a reference, but there should also be clarity in enhancement of career with competitive characteristics.

According to Ryaas, the occurrence of "lubricating money" practices is caused by our government organization which is too large and therefore has inadequate control and is not amenable to close scrutiny. This is worsened by the fact that there is never any evaluation. "There should be reformation and reorganization in our government," said Ryaas. (*)