The Authority of Law

DOKUMENTASI KEMENDAGRI

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian shows a joint decree on the neutrality of the state civil servants during the 2020 Pilkada,  on Thursday (10/9/2020).

As many as 67 regional heads have ignored the recommendations of the Civil Service Commission (KASN). This willful negligence has undermined the authority of law.

Law No. 5/2014 on the State Civil Service (ASN) regulates the political neutrality of civil servants, among others matters. The KASN supervises the civil service and can issue a recommendation in the case of violations and aberrant behavior of civil servants.

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As reported, 67 regional heads have ignored the commission’s recommendations. As the result, they have received a reprimand by the Home Ministry. The KASN has reprimanded the civil servants for violating the principle of political neutrality in the regional elections on 9 Dec. 2020. Neglecting the KASN’s recommendation without a valid reason sets a bad example for state order. Law No. 5/2014 defines neutrality of civil servants as impartiality from any form of influence and impartiality towards the interests of any parties.

If the ASN or regional heads indeed do not agree with the KASN’s decision or recommendations, they can file an appeal through the existing legal mechanism. Under Law No. 5/2014, the KASN has the authority to maintain the neutrality of ASN members and issue a warning in the case of any violations. Also, Law No. 5/2014 also provides a mechanism for settling disputes, including the use of an appellate system (Kompas, 2/11/2020).

KOMPAS/PRAYOGI DWI SULISTYO

Minister of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform Tjahjo Kumolo signed a joint decree to keep the state civil apparatus neutral during the 2020 Pilkada,  on Thursday (10/9/2020).

Filing an appeal with the State Administrative Court or taking other administrative legal steps is permitted in the case of any objections to the KASN’s recommendation. This legal step is more dignified than ignoring the commission’s recommendations as though it were a stack of meaningless paper. In fact, according to the KASN head, hundreds of recommendations that had been issued, some issued five months ago, had been ignored. This behavior is a type of negligence towards the KASN’s recommendations, and can undermine the authority of the state.

Institutional development is important to ensure that the existence of the commission benefits the people.

On the one hand, the KASN must also discover why its recommendations were ignored. Are there any weaknesses in the legality or the development of the KASN as an institution? Institutional development is important to ensure that the existence of the commission benefits the people.

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This country was established by consensus as a nation governed by the rule of law. Its laws are made democratically, even though the people\'s voice might be often ignored in practice. As a nation governed by law, the state sets the rules, including determining the political neutrality of the civil service in the regional elections. The law requires that the civil service remain neutral in the regional elections. Therefore, the agreed rules must be obeyed.

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We support the Home Ministry’s initiative to publicly reveal the identities of the civil servants who have violated the principle of neutrality, as well as those regional heads who have ignored the KASN’s recommendations. Let the public judge those civil servants who have violated the principle of neutrality and the manner of the violations. This step is being taken so that fellow civil servants can learn what it means to violate the principle of neutrality in the elections.