ifinaindonesian forum of international and national affairs

vol. 1 issue 6

C O O P E R A T I O NISSUE

Letterfrom the editor

In an era where connections between people are woven together and simultaneously broken every second, it is important to reassess the meanings behind them. Human interaction and cooperation occur between all kinds of people, whether they are sitting on the top echelons of the government or are simply two teenagers in their high school years. When cooperation is taken to both national and international levels, they bring di!erent results to the associated parties. In this issue, the Indonesian Forum of International and National A!airs looks deeper in both national and international cooperation, looking at both the doors it opens and closes. Furthermore, interviews with the Head of the Department in Law, Communications and Public Information in the Ministry of Administrative Reform Herman Suryatman and the Vice Minister of Administrative Reform Eko Prasojo exclusively share their opinions regarding the topic. Ultimately, even with all the setbacks that can arise with cooperation, it serves only one main purpose—to unite people in order to reach the common end goal of their aspirations.

Atilla AgussalamEditor in Chief

FOUNDERSRAAFI SEIFF

CHRISTY ZAKARIAS

EDITOR IN CHIEFATILLA AGUSSALAM

NATIONAL AFFAIRSNABILLA GUNAWAN

ADMINISTRATIONNUGROHO MAHARDITA

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRSISABELA CORPUS

INTERNAL AFFAIRS REYHAN ANWAR

TECHNOLOGY FADHIL ANSHAR

DESIGN PUTRI GUSTIGERALDINE SHOKO

PUBLIC RELATIONS MARISSA SIAHAAN

MARKETING MONICA MADELAINE SANTA

PHOTOGRAPHY GIBRAN PERMADI

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 1

ableof contents

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 2

tInternational Cooperation: For Peace or War? 3

International Collaboration& Resulting Con"icts 8

International CollaborationFor Local Issues 9

INTERNATIONALFrom The Editor 1

EVERY ISSUE

Sitting Down with the Vice Minister of Administrative Reform 4-6

Herman Suryatman: A Good Actor& An Even Better Public Servant 7

NATIONAL

Email your opinion articles to:

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������������������������������� ���������� ϐ����������hundred years ago. For example, in a manner the world could be considered very open, with various countries cooperating and striving towards a common cause. International cooperation has made various projects, events and theories possible. Vast numbers of causes for peace and humanity have been reasons for countries to band together. The United Nations (UN) is an example of international cooperation. Through the international organization, countries around the world could band together as one to strive for both human as well as animal welfare. Various branches of the United Nations exist. The United Nations World Food Program (WFP) where countries from ��������������������������� ϐ�����������ǡ������������in poverty stricken areas of the globe, is but one example. With international cooperation, aid, disaster relief, peace and other humanitarian causes are made easier as countries work hand in hand. Families are more likely to get through the night and more children have the opportunity to attain education.

Economically, international cooperation is of substantial value. Cooperation such as that of which could be perceived in the Eurozone, implement and promote economic cohesion. It grants countries access to the goods that differing countries have to offer, aiding foreign economies while strengthening local ones. However, some may argue that international cooperation is reason for some of the greatest human disasters in history, adding fuel to a ϐ���Ǥ�������������������ǡ�����������������ǡ�����made possible due to the various alliances between countries, bringing more and more countries into the feud until the scale grew to that of a total war. It may not have even been a world war had there been no alliances, no cooperation. Yet, organizations for peace that have been successful for years, such as the passed League of Nations and ongoing UN, implement international cooperation. From this, it is reasonable to say that international cooperation can greatly affect the world, in both positive and negative ways, be in to bring war or to ensure peace, aid, strength and overall welfare for the people of the world.

3IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue

Written by Isabela Corpus

COOPERAT ION

INTERNATIONAL

-for-

PEACEWa!or

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 4

PrasojoSitting Down with the Vice Minister of Administrative Reform: Why would they bring me lunch now!" said Vice Minister Eko Prasojo, amused rather than annoyed. It was ten o#clock and we sat down, ready to begin. That lunch he was referring to was small plates of shrimp, rice and satay; a meal fit for a Vice Minister.

A “mainstream” career

As the Vice Minister looks back in his more younger years, he had the—as he puts it—a rather “mainstream” ambition which was to enter the military. He liked the idea of being a soldier: to be disciplined and neat. However, he did not pass the test and in the end he just “went with the "ow” from that point.

His father wanted him to enter medicine in the University of Indonesia. His second choice was to enter the faculty of political sciences. Even though his high school focused heavily on

physics, he leaned further to the socio-political #eld.

Sculpting his talent in academics

"What really shaped me was that I met a lot of people and made friends.” He praises this as one of the underlying qualities of the University of Indonesia, in which a variety of people from di!erent backgrounds were present. He was active in a lot of organizations, such as leading the University’s student senate, even designing and spearheading some strikes (including one where he protested the rise in his University’s tuition fees.

Republika, a popular Indonesian newspaper, took notice and actually placed picture in the news). This is what triggered his passion for analyzing the socio-political situation of the nation.

“I never actually planned my life.” However he credits his skill for sharing his notes to the class, which propelled him to #nding his forte in life as he became an assistant lecturer later on in the process.

Eko

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 5

PICTURE

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 6

Shifting attitudes and values

Of course, the Ministry of Administrative Reform very much deals with the handling and evaluation of bureaucracy found in all Ministries. In that case I wonder, are all Ministries actually enthusiastic or cooperative in being placed into assessment? “Response does vary.” Says the Vice Minister truthfully. “Some answer very quickly and some do not.”

The Vice Minister tries to handle this issue by making sure that Ministries could send their results in public administration online. From this, a special team is assembled who will then assess the progress of each Ministry. “We also give a number of incentives, every time a Ministry reforms and progresses, we present them with rewards.”

Climbing the ladder of public service

The positions of high-ranking public servants (that would mean until the #rst echelon) should be opened nationally. “That means that people could just move (to take those positions) whether it should be from Ministry to Ministry or otherwise, just as long as the criteria for these positions are based on competence and work ethic.”

I must admit I raised my eyebrows quite a bit when it came to that answer. Wouldn’t lower ranking o$cials then be demotivated because maybe they felt usurped by external forces? The Vice Minister drew this

back to the idea that anyone could #t the position, which would mean they (the people who found themselves demotivated) have the right to move to other Ministries that might promise more greener pastures for them.

Politics is not cheap

The Vice Minister believes the e!ectiveness and the e$ciency of Indonesia’s bureaucracy relies heavily on the political situation of the country. “Reform should not only be about our bureaucracy but our political system as well. In politics, it should be about how one could #nd the best cadres in political parties whether it might be in the parliament or other forms of the government. What I think is the problem is that we don’t have a circle of elite that has a sense of idealism and ambition #t for the nation. Another thing is that being a politician isn’t cheap. This is what we must change because once they are voted in, they are #nding ways to “repay” their debts that they have accumulated on their way towards power.”

A culture of positives and negatives

Eko Prasojo sees the good and the bad of Indonesia’s culture when it comes to politics. For one thing, there seems to be a keluarga besar culture in which priority is given to relatives and other close relations. However, the Vice Minister did not exclusively say that this was true only in Indonesia but in Malaysia and Singapore as well. “On the

other hands those countries could still fare well.” The Vice Minister points our fairly.

Anticipating the next generation

The Vice Minister is currently preparing and anticipating Generation Y. “This is a generation that is familiar to technology and where they are not intimidated with people of high rank. This is a generation living in an age of globalization and technological development. However, they are not enthusiastic in entering the government, why? (Working in the government has) an unstable career and an unpromising income. We need to pull in an incentive that really brings in the crème de la crème of the country. It is like what you see in China where if you deal with the Chinese Bureaucracy, it is like you are dealing with the 1% of all best graduates from the university. We are the opposite. Those who are seen as unattractive in the job market, are #ghting to get a job in the government. These are the people who are strategically placed to make policies. Imagine how terrifying that is.”

Bureaucracy is a juggernaut of a problem in Indonesia, and it seems that the Vice Minister still has a lot of things to do. However, there is a comforting feeling of safety when we see someone like Prof. Dr. Eko Prasojo placed into authority. At the young age of 43, it seems that this won’t be the last time we will hear or see of him.

By Raa! Sei" & Gibran Permadi

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 7

HermanSuryatman a good actor

& an even better public

servant

Herman Suryatman is the Head of the Department in Law, Communications and Public Information in the Ministry of Administrative Reform. A position he has held relatively recently.

Early ambitions and aspirations

“I was raised in a kampong, where I had a close bond with nature whether it was playing soccer or running around in the #elds. This was a memory, which my friends and me held dearly.” Mr. Suryatman shares fond memories of building kites and making his own toys, which de#ned his own childhood. However, it was in his teenage years did he start thinking about his future. ”This meant that several situations were seen as dynamic to me.”

Choices, choices, choices

He was active in the theatre and wanted to become an actor. A career that was unstable and looked down. He moved around universities until #nally deciding to stick to one to study harder. Mr. Suryatman was in the military for years and then after that—as if he was university again—moved around a lot. He was involved in several Ministries from culture to education until when he was surprised to discover that he was accepted to enter the Ministry of Administrative Reform. He credits this to his parents, friends and family. “I am still an actor, not in the movie screen that is, but in life.”

The science and art of government as well as exceeding expectations of the people

Mr. Suryatman sees working in the government as a science and an art. “The formulation of obligations and policy has a nuance of science and from that it has to be brought to action. Bringing things in motion is an art itself. Our challenge is how we should exceed the expectations of the people, it shouldn’t only be limited to serving the people but the government should serve the people before they should be able to ask.” I questioned whether it might be because the expectation of the people might be too high to some extent. Mr. Suryatman believes that those expectations are within reason and in fact, he things expectations should increase. “If we would compare with other governments, the hopes of the people are not that big and I think it is just absurd that the expectations of the people are not met yet. Our people are willing to compromise.”

Bureaucracy vs. the people

“There is a stigma from the people who sees the bureaucracy as gendut, and where people are oversta!ed and not productive. This confuses the Indonesian people.” Says Mr. Suryatman. He also sees that an attitude towards government bureaucrats have emerged where they don’t see the need to give their 100 percent in work ethic. Mr. Suryatman points out the metaphor “Why should I provide two tables when it seems that one is enough?”

By Raa! Sei" & Gibran Permadi

IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 8

By Reyhan Anwar

International Collaboration &Resulting Conflicts

IFINA 1.6 Women’s Issue 9IFINA 1.6 Cooperation Issue 9

ifinaindonesian forum of international and national affairs