Public Policy Practice the Indonesian Way
Are you a public policy observer? You do not have to be a professional. Even someone who comments on government policies in their spare time – and not as their main job – is justified in doing so, because those policies may affect their daily life. A simple example: a friend of mine who sells model kits on the side is deeply affected by the government’s policy on Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) for children’s toys, even though he never studied public policy.
As an economist trained at the Crawford School of Public Policy, I am always enthusiastic when discussing public policy. If you are a civil servant (PNS), you might also enjoy talking about public policy. My school was filled with scholarship recipients, most of them civil servants from various countries.
However, at school, one typically learns about public policy in general terms – the principles of public policy, and perhaps a bit of economics. These principles are very useful when you engage with public policy (whether officially or as an observer), but they cannot be applied directly in practice to the Indonesian context.
The Importance of Understanding Public Policy Practice in the Indonesian Context
There are at least two things that I think graduates of public policy schools need to recognise. The first is context. Although the principles are universal, the context of each country, in different situations, at different times, can differ. Not every recipe works in every place at every time. Esther Duflo, one of the 2019 Nobel laureates in economics, has said:
“Instead of relying on our intuition, or that of others, we set up large-scale, rigorous randomised controlled trials to understand what works, what does not work, and why.”
In other words, it is important for policymakers to be cautious about what they learned in school, because what works in one context may not work in their own country (or even their province or village). Starting small with pilot projects to test a policy’s impact can be a useful first step before generalising.
The second point concerns public policy provision – how a policy is implemented in a given country. In other words, for an observer or policymaker in Indonesia, understanding Indonesia’s constitution is essential. I think everyone knows that Indonesia has various levels of policy. The highest level is legislation (Undang-undang) decided by the DPR (parliament). Below that are Government Regulations, cascading down to Ministerial Decrees. Beyond that, there are even Director General Regulations. At the regional level, there are Regional Regulations (Peraturan Daerah) decided by the DPRD (regional parliament), and Governor’s Regulations decided by the governor.
This second point is important for understanding the extent to which stakeholders are involved in implementing a policy you are observing or working on. When you encounter a policy you disagree with, you must be able to trace which level of authority the problem lies at. For instance, regarding trade restrictions, you should point to Law No. 7 of 2014 on Trade, which falls under the DPR’s domain. If what you disagree with is import restrictions specifically, then the target should be Minister of Trade Regulation No. 54 of 2009 on General Import Provisions. This should be addressed to the Minister of Trade. If what you want to protest is the procedure for obtaining an import licence, say for textile products, then the criticism should be directed at the Minister of Industry. Each issue may involve a different institution. Criticism that is more precisely targeted will be far sharper than criticism addressed vaguely to “the government” or to the president. The same principle applies to the various levels of regional government (DPRD, governor, mayor, village head, etc.).
In a university public policy essay, you usually do not need to target your criticism at a specific institution. But in practice, knowing which institution and which regulation your criticism relates to is far more practical and more likely to lead to a solution.
Want to Be the Minister of Industry? Read This!
When you become a public policy observer, it is more efficient to specialise. You focus on a particular issue and consistently offer criticism on that topic. Criticising other issues is fine too, but in your area of specialisation, your criticism can be sharper and better targeted.
Having spent a long time working at the Ministry of Industry, industry-related issues are naturally important to me. If you have also decided to specialise in industrial policy, then we are in the same boat.
There are several regulations you must know if you want to be a critic of industrial policy (or even become the Minister of Industry).
The first thing anyone who wants to dedicate themselves to industry (whether as a critic or as minister) needs to understand is the legal basis. All Ministries/Agencies are established to carry out the mandate of legislation. Some agencies have more than one law, like the Ministry of Education, but in the case of the Ministry of Industry, the primary legislation is Law No. 3 of 2014 on Industry. Article 5(2) of this law grants the Minister of Industry the authority to “administer government affairs in the field of industry.”
There are a total of 125 articles in this law, most of which concern what the state regulates regarding industry. Several responsibilities fall under specific Directorates General. This is where industrial policy critics become important: if the answer to a problem is something like “the government should regulate this,” then one must go back to the Industry Law. Returning to the law is important to determine what the government already regulates, and which article of Law 3/2014 is closest to the problem at hand, so that the solution can be precisely targeted using the tools available to the government.
Besides Law 3/2014, there are at least two more regulations that industry critics need to understand. The first is Minister of Industry Regulation No. 30 of 2017 on Types of Industries Under the Guidance of Directorates General and Bodies Within the Ministry of Industry. Long name, right? But this regulation essentially identifies which industries fall under the Ministry of Industry’s jurisdiction. If your industry is not listed here, it may be regulated by a different ministry. Some industries may have more than one supervising ministry, but this regulation can still serve as a guide.
The next regulation is Minister of Industry Regulation No. 35 of 2018 on the Organisation and Administration of the Ministry of Industry. This regulation describes the Ministry’s organisational structure. Industry critics would benefit from understanding which part of the Ministry handles which industry-related issues. If additional functions need to be added or existing ones removed, the decision to seek reorganisation should be grounded in this regulation: which parts change, what differs from the status quo. Which functions are added and which are removed – all based on this regulation. One more thing to keep in mind: the Ministry’s general functions are already set out in Law 3/2014, so if major additions or reductions are needed, the law itself would need to be amended.
In my view, if a political party wants to place its cadre in the position of Minister of Industry or on Commission VI, training on these matters is essential. It might be more useful than training on patriotism, nationalism, and the like. Just my opinion, of course. I have never been a party chair.
Too Complicated. I Do Not Want to Be a Minister. I Will Just Be an Observer!
If you just want to be an observer (like me), you do not need to read all of that. Not knowing it is fine too. As an observer, it is enough to know which regulation is directly related to the issue you are discussing. For example, if you are looking at IMEI regulations, just review Minister of Communication and Information Technology Regulation No. 11 of 2019 on the Control of Telecommunication Devices Connected to Cellular Mobile Networks Through International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) Identification, and critique its contents. If that regulation was based on a preceding regulation, simply trace back to it. Related regulations are usually listed in the preamble. Just look it up.
In my view, officials need to understand regulations from general to specific (top-down). For ordinary citizens like myself (and perhaps you too, because if you were an official you probably would not be reading this blog), it is easier to start from the specific regulation and work upward if needed (bottom-up). After years of doing this bottom-up approach, you will automatically understand the broader policy framework. You will start to see patterns – the policies you frequently criticise will keep pointing back to the same articles in the same law. Once you reach that point, you are ready to be an official.
What About Other Fields?
I am not deeply familiar with other fields. However, as a student working in industry, I inevitably need to know some related stakeholders. The two main ones are trade and investment. I have had to read Ministry of Trade regulations and Ministry of Finance regulations (related to import duties and corporate income tax) on several occasions. I have also visited the BKPM website multiple times to check investment-related regulations and data.
Critics in other fields should similarly familiarise themselves with the relevant regulations. I have repeatedly seen criticism directed at the government without specifying which level of government or which regulation. This is not inherently bad, but it would be far more useful if you can identify which regulation is being criticised, what changes are desired, and who should implement them. Without these, criticism becomes mere sniping and may not be very useful for problem-solving.
Generating public buzz around an issue is certainly important. But it is hard to solve problems if people just keep making noise without getting into the details.
In summary, when practising public policy, it is important to understand how the government implements public policy in Indonesia. In Indonesia, everything must be based on legislation. A good public policy practitioner must know whether the issue they want to critique already has a legal basis, whether there is already an institution handling it, so that the discussion can be more practical and not just abstract. With knowledge of the practical structure of public policy in Indonesia, your criticism can be sharper and more useful. Happy investigating!
