For the sake of government effectiveness, LAN reminds the guidelines for forming a cabinet
The formation of the cabinet must take into account the goals of the state, decentralization and government effectiveness.
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President Joko Widodo (center), accompanied by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, introduced the candidates for the Cabinet of Indonesia Maju on the porch of Istana Merdeka, Jakarta, on Wednesday (23/10/2019).
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — There are signs that the Prabowo Subianto-Gibran Rakabuming Raka government should pay attention to in preparing the posture of the cabinet. Apart from Law Number 39 of 2008 concerning State Ministries which limits the maximum number of ministries to 34, it is also necessary to pay attention to institutional design that is agile, flexible and responsive in order to create a more effective and efficient government.
Head of the Center for State Administration Policy Studies, State Administration Institute (LAN) Widhi Novianto, when contacted in Jakarta, Tuesday (7/5/2024), said that the number of ministries and institutions had actually been regulated in State Ministry Law. The basis for the formation of ministries has also been regulated in the law.
According to Widhi, LAN is only interested in reminding that there are several things that should be considered in determining future institutions or ministries. There are at least five things. One of them is the state's goals already mentioned in the constitution.
In addition, the concept of determining institutions and ministries must consider the principles of decentralization and regional autonomy. This means that the formation of the cabinet must consider that in the current era of decentralization, the governance is no longer centralized in the central government, but has been distributed to regional governments.
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President Joko Widodo, along with Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, are preparing to have a photo session with the ministers in the front yard of the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, on Wednesday (10/23/2019).
The shift in government governance should also be a focus in organizing the organization. Several things related to the dynamics of existing institutional arrangements should be designed to realize a nimble and flexible cabinet, especially with the increasing development of digital transformation.
Another important aspect is that institutional arrangement must be able to respond to future strategic challenges, both domestic and international. The formation of the cabinet must also be based on the goal of achieving effective governance so that institutional design does not overlap with one another.
"All of that should be a concern and consideration. So, I'm only conveying the guidelines, which should be taken into consideration in the formation of the cabinet. Thus, an effective and efficient government is expected to be realized," said Widhi.
Also read: Reorganizing State Ministries, Cabinet Proposed to Fill with 41 Ministers
Widhi also revealed that the more institutions that are formed, the greater the resources that will be expended. These resources include structures, officials, facilities, as well as employee expenses, household expenses, and institutional expenses.
Meeting of pair number 2, Prabowo Subianto and Gibran Rakabuming Raka, in South Jakarta, Friday (22/3/2024).
"All of that, of course, requires resources. Now, the formation of an organization must be compatible and adjusted to the resources available," said Widhi.
Downsizing options
LAN actually conducted a study on the design of central government institutions, which was published in 2014. Referring to the study, ideally the number of ministries formed should be between 20-24. In addition, there are three cabinet structure options offered from the study.
Firstly, there is an ideal option consisting of 20 ministries and one unit of the presidential office. Secondly, there is a moderate option consisting of 24 ministries and one presidential office. Lastly, there is a realistic option consisting of 24 ministries, two coordinating ministries, and one presidential office.
President Joko Widodo, accompanied by Vice President Ma'ruf Amin, introduced the line-up of the Indonesia Maju Cabinet ministers on the balcony of the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Wednesday (23/10/2019).
The streamlining through the three options is carried out by combining and eliminating a number of ministries. Meanwhile, the presidential office is strengthened by determining five functions in the existing work units. The five functions are the state secretariat, national development affairs (planning and budgeting), administrative reform, supervisory affairs, as well as decentralization and regional autonomy.
Regarding the coordinating ministry, both in the ideal and moderate options, this ministry is recommended to be abolished. This is because the coordinating ministry has been considered to not have much function in coordinating policies and programs of the ministries under it.
However, the coordinating ministry is still included as a realistic option. There are only two coordinating ministries, one focusing on managing the government and the other coordinating the work of all ministries in a specific sector.
Ideally, the number of ministries formed is 20-24.
LAN believes that if the cabinet is downsized, budget savings could reach hundreds of billions of rupiah.
Professor of Public Administration at the University of Indonesia (UI), Eko Prasojo, agrees with the study. The upcoming cabinet should indeed be made more streamlined. The number of ministries in the next government should ideally not reach the maximum number prescribed in the State Ministry Law.
One of the reasons is that in the era of regional autonomy like today, many government affairs have been delegated to local governments. Moreover, the current government has also followed the trend of digitization with the utilization of information technology, so ideally, the cabinet should be simpler.
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Eko Prasojo
Moreover, according to Eko, the fiscal space of the state budget is only 17 percent. The rest is mostly used for routine expenses, such as personnel spending. With this limited fiscal space, ideally, the cabinet should also be more streamlined so that more budget can be used for development programs and public interests. The quality of public services must be improved with future challenges that are not easy.
Needs to be perfected
Previously, a proposal came up from the Association of Constitutional Law and State Administration Law Lecturers (APHTN-HAN) that the ideal number of ministries should be 41. The fact that many government affairs in the 1945 constitution are not yet accommodated in the ministries was a consideration for APHTN-HAN in proposing the addition.
However, the addition of the ministry must go through a revision of the State Ministry Law. This is because the law has limited the maximum number of ministries to 34.
Also read: It is hoped that Prabowo-Gibran's Cabinet preparation will not be based on Cattle Trade Politics
Meanwhile, in the DPR, there has been no discussion yet regarding the revision of the Ministry of State Law even though the Bill of Draft Law regarding Amendments to Law Number 39 of 2008 concerning the State Ministry has already been included in the 2020-2024 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas).
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Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung at the Presidential Palace Complex, Jakarta, Monday (5/6/2023).
Chairman of DPR Commission II Ahmad Doli Kurnia Tandjung revealed that the decision to include the State Ministries Bill in the 2020-2024 Prolegnas was actually made at the start of the 2019-2024 term of office of DPR members. At that time, the DPR agreed that the Law on State Ministries needed to be improved considering that the Law had not been revised for more than 10 years.
Therefore, according to Doli, it is very possible and reasonable for the State Ministry Law to be revised at this time. Because, in the future, ministries and institutions must adjust to the developments and challenges of the times, not only for now, but also for the next 5-10 years.
"The challenges faced by Indonesia are increasingly dynamic. And now, this bill has been around for 16 years, so there must be adjustments," said Doli.
Doli does not rule out the possibility of the State Ministry Bill being discussed in the remaining two sessions. The term of office for DPR members currently only ends in October 2024. However, the certainty of discussing this bill depends on two things. First, the urgency of the discussion. Second, the political agreement between the government and the DPR.
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The potential presidential candidate from the Indonesian Advance Coalition (KIM), Prabowo Subianto, accompanied by KIM's chairpersons, held a press conference after a meeting and joint discussion related to the 2024 presidential election in Kertanegara, South Jakarta, on Friday (13/10/2023).
"Our (term of office) is still until October. We still have six months. "I think if everyone (the DPR and the government) agrees and it is important that (the Law on State Ministries) be updated, in my opinion, there is enough time," said Doli.
He hopes that the effort to revise the Ministry of State Law should be objectively examined. This means that the effort to revise this law should not only be seen to accommodate political interests, but rather to restructure the institutions and ministries in the most ideal way for the future.
"Maybe we need to review (the State Ministry Law) again. "It's been 16 years, you know, the institutional structure is the same, while the challenges are different," said Doli.
The issue of air pollution is not new. The community has long been threatened by air pollution, and there is plenty of research evidence showing the dangers of its impact. However, this has yet to prompt significant efforts to control air pollution. As a result, residents are increasingly suffering from the burden of air pollution. According to Doli, the DPR Commission II is also ready to discuss this bill. "The discussion of this bill should be handed over to the relevant commissions that deal with its affairs. Usually, commissions that deal with governance matters like this are Commission II," he said.
Regarding the push for the government to form a slimmed-down cabinet in the future, Doli disagrees. According to Doli, the public should assess the number of ministries needed in the future based on future challenges.
"We cannot count how many there are now, whether it has decreased or increased, because we still don't know. We will conduct a study and draft an academic paper first," he said.
