The problem of bureaucracy in Indonesia that are not yet accordance

with the characteristic of the bureaucracy

By: Muhammad Difa Dzikrian Sujanto

Student ID: 8111417323

International class 2017

Universitas Negeri Semarang

Bureaucracy is government characterized by specialization of function, adherence to fixed rules,

and a hierarchy of authority. Or in a simple form, bureaucracy is the structure and set of rules
that control the activities of people that work for organization or government

It was 73 years since Indonesia being a sovereign country, but yet Indonesia get lost from a

problem, especially in bureaucracy. For general problem that we commonly met is in the bad

public services.

Good governance, have a good bureaucracy system. Community satisfaction on public services

can be a benchmark of a good bureaucracy. As we know, Indonesian bureaucracy still have lots

of problems that make it people fell satisfied yet with the system. For example is the public

services in government institution, like local hospital. For poor patient, or BPJS (national health

insurance) patient, their registration process will not as easy as what regular or important people

get. We can see here, a big discrimination, in the public services at simple example of daily life.

The poor people get different services, because the officer think that poor people is always have

a problem on the payment process, so the poor people is mean a obstacle and not as important as

the rich people. But, all people is have a rights to get a healthy life, they also have a same rights
with rich people.
Bureaucracy, must have several characteristic, which will lead them into being a good

governance. Those are division of labor, rules and regulation, hierarchy and authority, technical

qualification, written documentation, and impersonality. Yet our bureaucracy fulfill all those

characteristic. In this essay, I will analyze the bureaucracy problem that related to the

characteristic of the bureaucracy, there are three character that not yet run as what they should,

its impersonality, and the rules and regulation. These three character is the most risky sector that
have lots of error in their application.

Impersonality

This problem is the most common problem that we can easily found everywhere, including in

our governance bureaucracy. We can easily found that the ‘poor’ people are complicated and get

different services in the public services institution. The officer of the institution often

discriminates people by its background. Rich or important people always get special services and

they made easy in the management. That behavior is not corresponded to the characteristic of

bureaucracy, which supposed to be impersonality. The officer is supposed to be ‘blind’, they are

must serve all types of people, not serve the people by its background. Bureaucracy have a rule

and procedure that all must be implemented. Whether he poor, or rich, handsome or ugly, man

or woman, young or old, all of them must follow the procedure, there is no shortcut. So the task

of the officer is to help and serve the people all the same. But the reality is different, so many

people that got rejected by the hospital because they are poor, even though when they are in

urgent condition that need a medical help, we all maybe ever heard about the woman that about

to give a birth got reject by the hospital because she cannot pay for the registration, or the mal
practice that the patient get. It all started from the heart of the officer/worker that not sincere
when doing their job.

Rules and regulation

Bureaucracy have rules and regulation. Those rules and regulation must be made without

discrimination, unfairness, efficient, clear and assertive. If those rules and regulation is
implemented, it will create a good bureaucracy. There are procedure that regulated there, but by

my experience, we can take a shortcut to processing our documentation, like we can get an

instant driving license if we have a relation in the police office. To be honest, my uncle is a

police and work in the driving license examiner. That time my father asked to my uncle to

proceed my driving license, it was easy, I only need to do the regular procedure like the other

people, but whether i pass the driving test or not, I will still get the driving license. I know its not

fair, but I already knew it when my father told me that my uncle help me through the driving

test. That thing that I do, is also related in to impersonality, I will do a little turn back to the

impersonality topics, because I have a relation to the internal people, my business will be easier

than the regular people, I only need to contact the internal people, in this case is my uncle, to
help me get a shortcut. That just a simple example of the breach of rules and regulation in the
bureaucracy.

Written documentation

All of what thing that do in the bureaucracy is must follow the procedure that have been written.
Because the procedure is mean to help and make all the business flow easily. Yeas, the

procedure is must followed, but in a special case it can be break for something important. Like

when we need to get an emergency medical help, the life of a people is more important than the
payment. We can still pay and process the payment after we get medical treatment.

All these three character is always have a relation, it all connected. When the impersonal

character is not run, it also will connected to the breaking the rules and also break the procedure.

Or when the officer is not follow the procedure, its automatically breaking the rules that all
people must follow the procedure.

Solution

Each problem have its own solution. We need to find out each solution to make it better, to make

the public service better, and to make bureaucracy system in Indonesia better than ever. We can

not make a single solution for all these problem, because each characteristic of bureaucracy
problem is have a different causes and effect. But if we make a conclusion, if these problem

combined is pointing to one single big problem, it is located on the public service.

To make a better services on bureaucracy for the people, we must analyze the causal root of the

problem itself. For the impersonality, I think, we must implement and train more intense to all

the officer and worker candidate in the future. A special training that helped by the community
psychology expert may lead to a generous officer and worker that have a talent and aware of
impersonality. While on the training period, the candidate must give a lesson that prioritized

impersonality, they need to implement a doctrine that everyone is same, nothing different

between one people to other. And the human resource director must be careful and carry out a

strict selection. They need to choose the best person that can handle a job that need a focus and

have an impersonality character. By doing a strict selection and intense training, which may help
a public services to having a good worker that will satisfied the consument/people by their good
work services. Because all good things is started seen from the base. When the base is not good,

the upper part will be the same, just like bureaucracy system. If the public service is not good, it

will affect to all of the bureaucracy system, because people is always judge everything form the

first thing that they get. Don’t ever believe to a popular quote, “don’t judge book by its cover”,

that is totally wrong. Because, if the cover or the outer view is not good, it have a bigger chance

that the inside is same like the outer view. So we must make a good and better service to people,
and it will make a great effect on the work of a bureaucracy.

The rules and regulation is also mean a great influencer in a good bureaucracy. Rules and
regulation is have a characteristic that can not be change and assertive. So when making a rule
and regulation, it must considered the most risk that will come in the base wide angel of view. It

means rule must occupied a lot of sector. When rules and regulation get patent, it must be obey

and followed. What happening these day, as long as we get money, and when the action is not

clearly seen by the rule, we can do that. Lot of worker or officer is willing to help to make a

shortcut to finish people’s business to get additional money, like pay the police to get an instant

driving license, pay the apparatus to get lost from a problem, pay some amount of money when
we get ticket from breaking the traffic regulation to the police, and lot of action that we can met

in daily life. A severe punishment, and more strict regulation may help to fix this problem.

Because in my view, it is okay to break the rule, because no one from the higher level of

bureaucracy will notice, and if noticed it is easy to get lost from the rid. Not only for the

consument, but the rule that regulates the work etiquette of the worker/officer must be fixed too.
Because it means nothing if we only fix the rule that supposed to the people.

And the supervision of officer must work harder and keep track of the work of their subordinate.
If the subordinates work deviated from the rule and regulation, the supervision must give the

heavier punishment than before. Maybe fired the worker is effective, but if its not yet effective,
an extra fine and fire should help to fix this.

As a young and develop people, we should realize the importance of the characteristic of the

bureaucracy, so in the future, we can make a better bureaucracy that will satisfied the people and

less internal error, especially in the impersonal character and make rule that have a less bleak
possibility.