Formalism in the open selection of local government officials
Ari Mukti1, Sudarmo2, Rina Herlina Haryanti3.
The City of Surakarta has conducted an open selection to fill local government
officials’ positions. This activity was aimed at finding qualified officials in accordance with
the mandate of the law to enforce the merit system. With ethnographic methods, including
participant observation, indepth interviews, and secondary data collection, the study found
that the open selection process was implemented not in accordance with the mandate of the
law to enforce the merit system. It was intervened by the local mayor's interests, so there is
no guarantee that those who pass the selection were candidates with the required
competencies, but rather reflect the interests of the mayor. The selection mechanisms were
conducted only as a formality to meet regulatory demands. The study also found the
existence of bureaucratic pathology but conducted legally, reflected in the form of mayor
demand to the selection committee in order to accommodate the chosen names to be passed
in the selection, although they do not meet the best competencies. Selection committees tend
to accommodate the interests of the authorities because they have a vested interest in
continuing to be employed again in the future when they show a harmonious interest with the
authorities. The condition is caused by a strong culture of patrimonialism that still occur in
the Indonesian Government and the enactment of decentralization system which gives the
local government too much of authority.
Affiliation:
- Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia
- Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia
- Universitas Sebelas Maret, Indonesia
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