Civil servants, police officers and military personnel will not be left out of the government’s spending plans, and will receive average pay increases of 5 percent, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said in his state budget address on Monday. The salary hikes are part of a Rp 161.7 trillion ($16.34 billion) allocation for personnel in the 2010 budget bill, up 21 percent from 2009, Yudhoyono told the House of Representatives. “The allocated budget is geared toward improving the income of state employees and pensioners by raising the basic salary and pension,” Yudhoyono said, adding that the package would include a 13th month of salary and a higher meal allowance. Less than a month after his landslide re-election victory, Yudhoyono noted that his administration had managed to more than double the income of the lowest-ranked civil servants during his first term. However, not everyone was wowed by Yudhoyono’s pay raises. Bambang Widodo Umar, an independent police observer, said an increase of 5 percent was insignificant and would be “dissolved in the stream.” “Salaries should be calculated according to their workload, especially for police and military personnel whose job is to build and maintain the nation’s morale and solidarity,” he said. Bambang said the proposed increases should not be applied to all civil service employees, and that the highest increases should be given to the lowest-ranked civil servants. Given the escalating prices of basic goods, he said, the ideal minimum salary for an entry-level police officer was Rp 5 million a month, a level that would help minimize corruption and abuse of power. HAR Tilaar, an education expert from Jakarta State University, said a salary increase of 5 percent was also insufficient for the country’s teachers and in any case addressed only one of their many challenges. “It will also be important to build the teachers’ capacity,” Tilaar said. He said the government should change its policy and declare nonpermanent teachers civil servants. “Many of them have not been paid, so they have stopped teaching and this has disrupted the students’ learning process,” he said. However, Minister of Education Bambang Sudibyo told reporters that the salary increase for teachers was significant. “Even for teachers in Jakarta, their salaries can reach up to Rp 2.5 million per month,” Bambang said, adding that teachers in the capital will see the highest increase in salaries in the country. “So it will be excessive if the schools in Jakarta are still trying to collect more [enrollment] fees,” he said.
Maruarar Sirait, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said bureaucratic reform was not just about raising salaries but also about better job performance. “Both have to work well,” Maruarar said.
Maruarar Sirait, a lawmaker from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, said bureaucratic reform was not just about raising salaries but also about better job performance. “Both have to work well,” Maruarar said.
