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JAKARTA
POST, 07 Juli 2013
“On the annual observance of Public Service Day, we honor
those who accept the responsibilities of service to humanity and who contribute
to excellence and innovation in public service institutions.” (UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon)
If one were to ask a group of 10 random people what happens on May 1 in every country around the world, they would most likely know that particular date commemorates Labor Day. Five of them would probably also be familiar with Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 9.
Now, if one were to ask them what June 23 signifies, perhaps none of them would be aware that it is International Public Service Day.
International Public Service Day was introduced in 2002 under United Nations’ (UN) Resolution 57/277.
The day highlights four points on public services: the value of public services to the community, the contribution of public services toward development, recognition of the work of civil servants and encouraging young people to pursue careers working for the public sector.
This year, the UN Public Service forum took place in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain, on June 24-27.
All nations commemorate the special day by holding events and giving out rewards to those who support the development of public services through democracy.
The critical issue here is society’s awareness of their right to public services. It is sad to know that Indonesia is quite well known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. According to the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International, Indonesia ranks 118 from 176 countries. Indonesia is on the same level as Egypt, Madagascar and Ecuador. This only indicates corrupt practices occurring within public institutions.
The situation is getting worse given the fact that corruption cases have always made headlines in the local media. Apart from the “bad news”, which people seem to be fond of, corruption cases are quite easy to analyze. Corruption may be a result of misinterpretation of rules and therefore whenever a violation occurs many analysts will be tempted to comment on the cases by quoting a set of rules to remind public officials of various laws as well as policies that they plan to abuse or may have abused already.
Public services are not a matter of “do” or “don’t”. Public services are crucial in reminding people that as citizens they have an obligation to pay taxes and in return they have the right to a high quality of public services. Common people say “we want fairness” while modern people say it bluntly “we want a better system”.
It is a tricky task for any government to accept that in a democratic society, its citizens have the right to make the government accountable for delivering public services.
When the media exploits the negative aspects of public services or the officials’ attitude of being above the law, public services can become a bit of a soap opera. Recently we were shocked by news of a “misunderstanding” on board an airplane leaving for Pangkalpinang in Riau.
A Bangka Belitung provincial government official misbehaved after a flight attendant asked him to switch off his mobile phone since the plane was about to take off.
This is an extremely negative issue for two reasons. First of all, switching off mobile phones is part of the existing international aviation safety procedure and the Indonesian aviation industry is strictly bound by these laws. Flight attendants therefore are responsible for reminding passengers of the safety rules, regardless of who they are. Second, the incident must have been a slap in the face to all civil servants.
The question now is: Does one feel offended if someone who has to enforce a rule reminds them of it in a polite manner?
The International Public Service Day in some ways should be the day to remind all of the workforce in the public sector to change their attitude. Bureaucracy reform will go nowhere if they deem the changes as leverage for financial support. The media on the other hand should support public services in any sector, by informing and engaging society to play a role as an supervising force.
The public should join the efforts to expand the positive aspects of public services. Then everyone will support the UN secretary-general’s request to honor anyone who holds responsibilities for services to humanity and who contribute to innovating public service institutions. ●
If one were to ask a group of 10 random people what happens on May 1 in every country around the world, they would most likely know that particular date commemorates Labor Day. Five of them would probably also be familiar with Anti-Corruption Day on Dec. 9.
Now, if one were to ask them what June 23 signifies, perhaps none of them would be aware that it is International Public Service Day.
International Public Service Day was introduced in 2002 under United Nations’ (UN) Resolution 57/277.
The day highlights four points on public services: the value of public services to the community, the contribution of public services toward development, recognition of the work of civil servants and encouraging young people to pursue careers working for the public sector.
This year, the UN Public Service forum took place in Manama, the Kingdom of Bahrain, on June 24-27.
All nations commemorate the special day by holding events and giving out rewards to those who support the development of public services through democracy.
The critical issue here is society’s awareness of their right to public services. It is sad to know that Indonesia is quite well known as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. According to the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International, Indonesia ranks 118 from 176 countries. Indonesia is on the same level as Egypt, Madagascar and Ecuador. This only indicates corrupt practices occurring within public institutions.
The situation is getting worse given the fact that corruption cases have always made headlines in the local media. Apart from the “bad news”, which people seem to be fond of, corruption cases are quite easy to analyze. Corruption may be a result of misinterpretation of rules and therefore whenever a violation occurs many analysts will be tempted to comment on the cases by quoting a set of rules to remind public officials of various laws as well as policies that they plan to abuse or may have abused already.
Public services are not a matter of “do” or “don’t”. Public services are crucial in reminding people that as citizens they have an obligation to pay taxes and in return they have the right to a high quality of public services. Common people say “we want fairness” while modern people say it bluntly “we want a better system”.
It is a tricky task for any government to accept that in a democratic society, its citizens have the right to make the government accountable for delivering public services.
When the media exploits the negative aspects of public services or the officials’ attitude of being above the law, public services can become a bit of a soap opera. Recently we were shocked by news of a “misunderstanding” on board an airplane leaving for Pangkalpinang in Riau.
A Bangka Belitung provincial government official misbehaved after a flight attendant asked him to switch off his mobile phone since the plane was about to take off.
This is an extremely negative issue for two reasons. First of all, switching off mobile phones is part of the existing international aviation safety procedure and the Indonesian aviation industry is strictly bound by these laws. Flight attendants therefore are responsible for reminding passengers of the safety rules, regardless of who they are. Second, the incident must have been a slap in the face to all civil servants.
The question now is: Does one feel offended if someone who has to enforce a rule reminds them of it in a polite manner?
The International Public Service Day in some ways should be the day to remind all of the workforce in the public sector to change their attitude. Bureaucracy reform will go nowhere if they deem the changes as leverage for financial support. The media on the other hand should support public services in any sector, by informing and engaging society to play a role as an supervising force.
The public should join the efforts to expand the positive aspects of public services. Then everyone will support the UN secretary-general’s request to honor anyone who holds responsibilities for services to humanity and who contribute to innovating public service institutions. ●
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