The phenomenon of Regional Head Officials (PKD) in Indonesia give rise to a dualism between career officials and political officials. This dualism also raises various new problems such as the relatively long term of tenure which causes issues of community acceptability and the level of accountability of the PKD as well as the issue of the neutrality of the PKD which is very vulnerable to co-optation and political intervention.
Responding to this issue, the Research Cluster of Policy, Governance, and Administrative of the Faculty of Administrative Sciences, Universitas Indonesia (PGAR FIA UI) held a national talkshow entitled “Regional Head Officials: Between Legitimacy and Competence” which invited five speakers, namely the Special Inspector, Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs of Indonesia Teguh Narutomo; Senior Researcher at National Research and Innovation Agency Prof. Dr. Siti Zuhro, M.A .; Ombudsman Member Robertus Na Endi Jaweng; Mayor of Bogor Dr. H. Bima Arya Sugiarto; and Regent of Banggai Islands Ihsan Basir, SH., LL.M.
The talkshow that was held also initiated from a fact last May, where as many as 5 Governors, 37 Regents, and 6 Mayors were sworn in as Regional Head Officials (PKD) until November 27, 2024. Prof. Dr. Eko Prasojo, Mag.rer.publ., as the Head of Research Cluster of PGAR FIA UI said, “We have developed this tradition of continuous discussion at Universitas Indonesia, especially at the Faculty of Administrative Sciences and at Research Cluster of PGAR FIA UI. Today we will discuss a very strategic and critical national issue related to regional head officials between legitimacy and competence. As we know, until 2024 in November, there will be 271 regional head officials in local leaders elections this year, and there will be around 101 in 2022 who will be inaugurated.”
Prof. Eko Prasojo also said that this activity was very important to discuss because it was related to the administration of regional government. According to him, there are positive and negative sides that will be discussed. “There are a number of issues that we will discuss later. I think this is an academic discussion and practice by bringing together academic sides and also practical needs for governance in Indonesia,” said the Deputy Minister of State Apparatus Empowerment and Indonesian Bureaucratic Reform in Kabinet Indonesia Bersatu II.
The first speaker on the talkshow, Teguh Narutomo, said that the current period is unique, and indeed the momentum may not have happened before or may also no longer be valid in the following years. “Because of that, we really have to conduct a discussion to unite our thoughts together in making the best use of this momentum for the good of the nation. We also want to agree that what is meant by legitimate in the current discussion is more about recognition because if it is legitimate in the sense of appointment, this is already a given thing that the president has the prerogative to determine the mechanism through proposals from the regions, which are determined by the Provincial Legislatives Council, entered into the TPA test, and determined by the President. Thus, the current regional heads are born,” he said.
Because evaluating the appointment of regional head officials philosophically is not just evaluating the implementation of their duties. Teguh said that there is something broader, not only the supervision element but also the guidance. “This momentum may be different from when regional heads carry out their duties with the local leaders election mechanism or understanding. We will accompany the regional head officials for three months. In evaluations, we always discuss the problems, and we will give treatment if there are problems in their respective regions,” Teguh explained.
According to the second speaker, Prof. Dr. R. Siti Zuhro, M.A., Indonesia should not take too long trial and error. “From a democratic and political perspective, legitimacy must be guaranteed. If there is no legitimacy or public trust, it will create mass public distrust of the area which led to a big problem,” he said.
Representing Ombudsman of the Republic of Indonesia, Robert Na Endi Jaweng, S.I.P., M.A.P., said that the process for the presence of these officials is inseparable from the recruitment process until it reaches its termination. “Even if, for example, the results of their performance and competence measurement when they are already appointed are good, it does not mean that the legitimacy in the appointment process can be considered complete in the context of the principles of constitutionalism and the teachings of the rule of law, as well as the Ombudsman on governance matters. There are big things that I think are still needed to work on. We see that how to interpret the principles of constitutionalism and rule of law and adherence to good governance; the principles of good governance, still need to be clarified,” he said.
The talk show, which is expected to become a forum for collaborative analysis, was held online on Thursday (17/11) via a Zoom Meeting. The event consisted of three sessions with trigger questions for all speakers, question and answer with participants, and a wrap-up session.
