Ali Maschan concerned over corrupt mentality of govt officials

Surabaya, NU Online
A number of pro-people policies have been enacted. However, the policies are not as good as expected due to the corrupt mentality of public officials.<>

Former chairman of the East Java's Regional Board of Nahdlatul Ulama (PWNU) Prof Dr KH Ali Maschan Moses, MSi. made the remarks following the poor performance of government officials in implementing the purposeful policies.

At this stand, the member of the House of Representatives launched a book titled "The Ethics of Bureaucracy in the Perspective of Good Governance".

Maschan said that the state and government bureaucracy were not the ultimate goal of the so-called nation-state.

"The purpose of the existence of both the state and the bureaucracy is an instrument that can be used to achieve social justice for all Indonesian people," he told NU Online here on Monday (12/8).

Therefore, the existence of bureaucracy should soon be revitalized. "There are at least five reasons why it is urgent to do," the member of the House of Representatives Honorary Board said.

The first is a consequence of regional autonomy. "In a decentralized system, there is a transfer of authority or power sharing in government planning and management, including in terms of decision making from the central to local levels," he said.

"The second consideration is that, in the era of democratization and regional autonomy, bureaucratic cultures inherited from the colonial government and the New Order are no longer compatible," the father of five children who is currently serving as the deputy chairman of law making body of PWNU said.

The third is the critical thinking of people. "It is the impact of economic and social development which in recent decades has increased the number of educated people," he said.

The fourth is the changing global environment. And the last is the paradigm shift that is a public service which is based on the theory of democracy that teaches egalitarianism or equality among citizens.

"With such demands, the public interests are formulated as a result of dialogues of existing values​ in society, and bureaucracy that provides public services should be accountable to the community as a whole," the professor of Sunan Ampel State Institute for Islamic Studies, Surabaya, said.

Reporting by Syaifullah; Editing by Sudarto Murtaufiq