First came the multimillion-dollar request by members of the House of Representatives to build a new and more luxurious building for themselves. Despite widespread public criticism, legislators are adamant about proceeding with their plans. Now we learn that the government and the House have allocated trillions of rupiah for overseas travel that many deem wasteful. While overseas trips are necessary as part of the ongoing operations of the government, there certainly needs to be a rethink on how taxpayer funds are utilized.
According to Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency, some Rp 19.5 trillion ($2.2 billion) has been allocated to various government divisions such as the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), the General Election Commission (KPU) and the National Archive in the 2010 State Budget.
The president has been allocated Rp 179 billion for overseas trips while the House of Representatives gets Rp 170.3 billion to spend on travel. Given past experience, we cannot be sure if this money will be well spent.
It is critical that all branches of the government practice prudence in spending the public’s money. Big, bloated governments are not only inefficient, they are often wasteful and unproductive.
Indonesia should, in fact, be striving for small, responsive and efficient government. Every rupiah spent should be accounted for and justified and funds used with maximum productivity. Civil servants must be both productive and innovative in their work so that they can add economic value to society.
Too often, the attitude among civil servants and government workers is to do the least possible work. Low salaries are used as a reason and an excuse for lackluster work and often the public is given either poor or no service.
This must change if Indonesia is to rise up the economic ladder. The government cannot and must not see itself as just a cost center. It too must generate economic value by way of better utilization of public funds so that more money can be channeled to infrastructure and other development projects.
Overseas travel must only be taken when absolutely necessary. We must stop the junkets that many legislators and government officials treat themselves to in the name of study tours, which achieve no concrete results. Such waste must end.
Both the government and the legislature should provide good examples by tightening their belts and implementing checks against wasteful spending. The government must work toward reducing its size, both in terms of employee numbers by streamlining divisions, as well as in terms of the scope of its operations.
It should focus on the purely essential functions and work with the private sector to implement policies that empower businesses and individuals. The objective must be to cut red tape as much as possible so people can get on with their work and lives without too much government interference.