non-governmental organizations

Herman Haeruman

Ref Batch
D
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
5
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Rushda Majeed
Name
Herman Haeruman
Interviewee's Position
Former Director
Interviewee's Organization
Bappenas
Language
English
Town/City
Jakarta
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, Herman Haeruman of Indonesia discusses the origins and evolution of the Kecamatan Development Program in Indonesia. The KDP was a joint effort between the World Bank and the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (BAPPENAS) with an overarching goal of poverty alleviation in Indonesia’s poorest and generally rural areas. Haeruman explains how decentralization of power from central to local governments played an important role in the success and inherent value of the KDP, and touches on topics such as the empowerment and autonomy that resulted from the program’s sub-national scale. Haeruman delves into the monetary and executive relationship between the World Bank and BAPPENAS, and describes how an independent monitoring system for money allocations was created to guarantee transparency and prevent corruption in allowing villages to choose how to spend their grant money. Haeruman concludes by discussing the difficulties in scaling up KDP from a local, pilot-based program to a nation-wide agenda, as well as other obstacles faced along the way.

Case Study:  Services for the People, by the People: Indonesia's Program for Community Empowerment, 1998-2006

Profile

Herman Haeruman is a native of Indonesia. Having graduated with a Master of Forestry and Doctor of Forestry from Duke University, he has worked on environmental issues in both the academic and political realms of Indonesia. He was a principle expert in the development of the National Action Plan for Climate Change, and remains a key environmental point-person for the Government of Indonesia. His expertise in the environment had a particular role in implementation of the KDP as an advisor to rural communities on sustainable development and planning. He served as a professor of environmental planning at Universitas Indonesia, was the director of the Graduate School at University Mathla’ul Anwar in Banten, Java, and is currently a professor of forest management at Bogor Agricultural University’s graduate school.

Sarwono Kusumaatmadja

Ref Batch
C
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
3
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Matthew Devlin
Name
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja
Interviewee's Position
Member
Interviewee's Organization
Council of Regional Representatives
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Indonesian
Town/City
Jakarta
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Sarwono Kusumaatmadja describes the tactics he employed to accomplish political change and governance reform in the many positions he held in Indonesia’s government. In the first part of the interview, he provides frank and revealing insights into the political tactics he used to reduce military influence and achieve party change as secretary-general of the dominant Golkar party before the fall of the Suharto government in 1998. In the second section, he reports on eight priorities he adopted as state minister for administrative reform in the new government: improvement of public services, merit-based appointments, analysis of civil service positions, functional rather than structural job assignments and professionalization of career paths, improved compensation, increased training, manuals for each position, and decentralization (regional autonomy). He describes the political tactics he used to achieve results, particularly in the Civil Service Administration Agency, the Civil Service Training Agency, and the Ministry of Education. In the third part of the interview he reports on the practical tactics and politics he used as minister of the environment to crack down on pollution by businesses with close ties to the president and other political leaders. He describes how he used NGOs, international financial institutions, and pressure from Indonesian clients (including the military) to achieve results. In the fourth section, he describes his role in ending the Suharto government and describes his brief tenure as minister for marine and fisheries. He provides practical and frank accounts of his approach to hiring and firing personnel, as well as his personal views on ethics for public officials.
 
Profile

At the time of this interview, Sarwono Kusumaatmadja was a member of the Council of Regional Representatives, the highest legislative body in Indonesia. He entered politics and the Golkar party in 1970, rising to become secretary-general of the party. After the fall of the Suharto government in 1998, he was named state minister for administrative reform. In later governments, he served as minister of environment and minister for marine and fisheries. 

Full Audio File Size
123 MB
Full Audio Title
Sarwono Kusmaatmadja - Full Interview