[Kabar-indonesia] 'Indonesia still at the tipping point of reform'

[Joyo at aol.com]

also: JP Editorial: Producing top performances

The Jakarta Post
Saturday, September 9, 2006

Opinion

Using ideas as weapons for peace

Graeme Macmillan, Melbourne

Using ideas as weapons is as old as democracy itself. Ideas are far more 
effective and long lasting than bullets because they can change people's minds, 
which results in better behavior, and this leads to better ways of living 
together.

In a world that resorts to warfare and killing people to resolve differences, 
it is worth reminding ourselves that the underlying solutions to conflict 
resides in helping people change their minds, and their hearts, about the way 
they see each other. It is the role of the politician to provide leadership in 
changing minds by delivering good public policy that establishes the vision, 
process and outcomes for achieving peaceful coexistence and greater prosperity, 
and to protect minorities.

The role of the public sector manager is to implement those public policies 
faithfully for the public good, not personal gain. The solution to most 
problems is therefore good governance and good management.

Howard Gardner in his brilliant 2004 book, Changing Minds; the Art and 
Science of Changing Your Own Mind and Other People's Minds, reminds us that changing 
minds is seldom an epiphany or blinding revelation. It is a gradual process 
that is in part determined by growing up, but also how we respond to the 
'levers' of change -- reason, research, resonance, repetitive redescription, real 
World events, rewards and overcoming resistance.

When people start changing their minds collectively, we arrive at a 'tipping 
point' of reform. This can happen for countries, within organizations and most 
importantly in ourselves when we change our own mind about something.

Indonesia is still at the tipping point of reform in government and 
governance. Most public sector managers we speak with want change. They do not like 
corruption, they do not want unworkable systems, over regulation, irrelevant 
legislation, being dependent on aid money or other people's thinking. These 
managers are perfectly capable of running good governments, and in many cases are 
showing outstanding leadership qualities by making great advances with limited 
resources. What is needed now is a consistent direction and policy from 
political leaders at the center to foster and reward these innovators.

To get the public sector to deliver better performance requires a whole of 
government management improvement program. This does not necessarily involve 
great cost, but it does involve changing many minds, and being strategic. 
Obtaining support for and implementing changes on a whole of government basis is 
never easy. Eisenhower complained that when he was commander in chief of the 
Allied Forces during World War II there was instant compliance with his orders, yet 
as President of the United States he kept pulling on the levers of power and 
nothing happened. Such is the frustration and challenge of good governance -- 
how to get large teams of people working together in the public interest.

For Indonesia, which now has one of the biggest, diverse and most 
decentralized systems of government in the world, there are many special challenges to be 
overcome and hurdles to be jumped, but none are impossible.

For example, much Indonesian regulation is totally meaningless in terms of 
improving performance or protecting people's rights. This is even before 
deciding whether the laws are duplicated, conflicting or indeed necessary. Part of 
the public sector reform process should be reviewing all legislation to see 
whether it actually restricts competition and performance instead of promoting it. 
Australia undertook a similar exercise for their National Competition Policy 
implementation, and now has one of the World's best performed economies.

A whole of government public sector management improvement program would help 
all governments do a better job. Central agencies need to develop and 
communicate good policy and guidelines, and not cling onto operational activities as 
they presently do. Osborne and Gaebler in their book Reinventing Government 
referred to this as 'steering not rowing.' Local governments need to accept more 
responsibility and be accountable for delivering better public services or 
outcomes; not just seeking bigger and bigger Budget allocations.

Public sector managers have to be responsible and accountable for their own 
performance and that of their teams. Reporting of finances has to transparent 
and comprehensive. Better performance is achieved through continuous 
improvement processes and learning from the past, not just form-filling, and applying 
strategic thinking and planning to activities, not just blindly following 
out-of-date rules and regulations.

Asking the question 'who is responsible?' is the starting point for improving 
performance, because this establishes where the buck stops. Where a process, 
institution or regulation is not helpful; simply get rid of it.

The President signaled a business-like approach soon after his election by 
having ministers complete performance agreements. The tsunami on Dec. 26, 2004 
and subsequent crises have greatly hampered progress, but the imperative to 
improve governance and management remains. The direct way of achieving this is to 
have a uniform public sector management improvement program.

The outcomes of good government, good governance and good management for 
Indonesia will be a high performing economy, a sustainable environment and a 
fairer society. The success of this strategy will depend on changing minds and 
hearts, because this is where all real reform begins.

The writer is Director of Public Management International Institute. He can 
be reached at Graeme.macmillan at ciptanet.com. 

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The Jakarta Post
Saturday, September 9, 2006

Editorial

Producing top performances

The Jakarta administration's poorly argued decision to have the old Menteng 
Stadium torn down was really shocking.

Stubbornly, the administration carried out the demolition in July to the 
horror of seasoned soccer fans, who could only wonder what was behind the policy.

Whatever the case, sports fans in general and soccer lovers in particular 
view the stadium's demolition as an arbitrary act. The administration then 
promised to build new sports facilities in the compound.

The destruction of the 85-year-old stadium is, in a way, indicative of the 
administration's poor appreciation of sports. It seems that building more malls 
and shopping centers is more important than making sports centers and open 
spaces available to for public use. As a result, Jakarta now has few green areas, 
forcing children to play on the street.

It is clear that sports are not a focus in the city's development program.

Do the math. A country with a population of more than 200 million finds it 
difficult to recruit 22 people under the age of 25 to be trained as professional 
soccer players.

Millions of young athletes could have been netted through the use of 
professional talent scouting and training. Instead, many young people turn to 
violence, including in sport. The recent soccer match between Surabaya (Persebaya) and 
Malang (Arema) in Surabaya, which ended in terrible violence, is one example.

Crowd violence has become commonplace here. The National Football Association 
(PSSI) has been busier dealing with violence in sport than looking at ways to 
develop national soccer.

Many believe the troublemakers are unemployed people, left behind in all 
aspects of life. So the riots and the people's frustration over the hardships of 
life are strongly linked.

National Sports Day on Sept. 9 means very little to most citizens. The 
occasion has failed to motivate the government, sports organizations and athletes to 
climb the ladder to success.

Nobody has ever addressed this issue. Once we had a very promising under-18 
national soccer team. There were also times when we had good young swimmers. 
However, when they got older and joined professional clubs they lost their spark 
and no longer performed at international level.

Another odd thing is that sports manager is a sought-after position. However, 
most of the people who get these jobs rest on their haunches, doing little to 
develop the sport or the athletes. It is all left up to the athletes 
themselves.

Before Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso was appointed National Badminton Association 
chairman, top shuttler Taufik Hidayat had made his own way to glory, through 
his talent and undying efforts.

In boxing, talent, hard work and discipline got featherweight WBA champion 
Chris John to where he is today. His good standing does not depend on a single 
boxing organization in the country.

The "fall guy" in this situation might be financial constraints. Indonesia 
allocates 0.6 percent of its national budget for sports, while Malaysia and 
Vietnam spent 4.7 and 4.9 percent respectively of their state budget on sports in 
2005.

In 2005 the government allocated Rp 80 billion for sports development through 
the National Sports Council (KONI). This year it allocated Rp 50 billion.

The director of KONI's training center, Kusnan Ismukanto, has said KONI has 
been allocated Rp 303 billion from the government for preparations for the 2007 
Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

Better human resources in health and education are also necessary to produce 
top athletes. Before the government improves the quality of physical education 
in schools, no one can expect to see high achievements in sports.

With more training, the millions of unemployed senior high school and 
university graduates in the country could become real assets. If not, the ranks of 
the unemployed will continue to swell, giving rise to frustration and violence. 
National Sports Day should serve as a reminder to all that Indonesia, with its 
huge population, has been left behind other countries in sports.

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Joyo Indonesia News Service
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