Desy Nurhayati, Jakarta – A systematic war against corruption, collusion, nepotism and poor bureaucratic practices in all government agencies using a new draft law would improve the country's public administration sector, a government official said Tuesday.

"The law on public administration... will be the legal basis to conduct a complete improvement of our governance system," State Minister of Administrative Reforms Taufik Effendi said. The draft law on public administration had been forwarded by the ministry to the House of Representatives and was now waiting deliberation.

The House is expected to start discussing the draft by the end of this year. "We expect... (the law will) change the mindset of state officials toward a good governance system," Taufik said.

He said corruption, collusion and nepotism in government agencies had continued to occur because of a lack of transparency and accountability in the system. "And efforts to fight corruption should not only be focused in the investigation, but also the prevention of corruption," he said.

The draft law says officials abusing their political authority would face administrative sanctions. The minister said the draft law, if enacted, would benefit the public because it would cut red tape and increase public service efficiency.

Eko Prasodjo, a researcher with the Center for Legal Study and Good Governance at the University of Indonesia, said the current bureaucratic system was often detrimental to the public.

"The public has always received an unfavorable impact from the administration system," Eko said. "We need comprehensive reform in the governance system to ensure the public stops losing out. The public has to be allowed to actively participate in the drafting of a public policy by providing feedback to the government. This would help ensure policies stop being detrimental to their interests."

Eko said the law would allow the public access to the government administration documents used to draft public policy.

Bivitri Susanti from the Center of Policy and Legal Studies said the draft law would provide "concrete guidance toward a good governance system".

"The law, if enacted, will regulate how government officials should act in their provision of services to the public," Bivitri said. "The law would not just stipulate the principles of good governance."