Yogyakarta, October 21st 2022 – The Ministry of Empowerment of State Apparatus and Bureaucratic Reform (KemenPAN-RB) held a discussion titled “Bureaucratic Reformation and Its Contribution to Poverty Eradication” in Fisipol UGM Mandiri Auditorium, on Friday (21/10). The PANRB Minister, Abdullah Azwar Anas, said hello to 100 students after doing a grand launching of “Thematic Bureaucratic Reformation for Poverty Eradication” in Gadjah Mada University’s Balai Senat. The discussion was also attended by the Deputy for Human Resources in the Apparatus of the Ministry of PANRB, Dr. Ir. Alex Denni, M.M; Deputy for Bureaucratic Reform, Apparatus Accountability, and Supervision of the PANRB Ministry, Prof. Dr. Erwan Agus Purwanto, M.Si; Member of the Independent National Bureaucratic Reform Team, Soni Sumarsono; and UGM Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arie Sujito, S. Sos., M.Sc.
Anas said to the university students that bureaucratic reformation is impactful in two priority sectors; poverty and investment. The eradication of poverty is President Jokowi’s priority and it is what led to the creation of Thematic Bureaucratic Reformation for Poverty Eradication. “Programs need to have some impact, especially when it comes to human resources,” Anas said. He said that we need affirmative policies that can support the quality of our human resources. The digitalization of governmental administration, for example, can be a step not only toward efficiency but also toward the eradication of poverty. For the university students, Anas reiterated the importance of working in a poverty-stricken area like the places where university students do their KKN.
However, Anas said that bureaucratic reformation is not an easy matter. There is a dilemma between the desire to do change with the reality of actually striving for it. The problems often encountered are the practice of corruption, collusion, and nepotism; a weak budget system; as well as the politicization of state civil apparatus. Anas also said that the condition where people are stuck in their comfort zone, where they are afraid to change is often found.
To reply to a student’s question about the phenomena of war for talent, Anas said that KemenPAN-RB is trying to simplify bureaucracy so it can move freely. Anas also invited students to be a state civil apparatus. “We are building a home for millennials as state civil apparatuses,” Anas said.