Analysis of Merit System on Filling High Leadership Positions in the Government of East Manggarai Regency

The purpose of this research is to analyze the application of merit system in the implementation of open selection for high leadership positions in the context of a local socio-cultural setting. The merit system policy in this open selection in this research refers to the Regulation of the Minister of Administrative Reform and Bureaucratic Reform (Permenpanrb) Number 15 of 2019. This research was conducted in the East Manggarai Regency Government utilizing a post-positivist research approach with qualitative data collection techniques. The findings showed that the implementation of open selection for filling JPT in East Manggarai Regency was not based on succession planning, there were differences in administrative requirements with relevant regulations; the addition of several administrative files. The background checking process is only carried out based document-driven and con ducted indirectly to the participants’ work environment. The process of monitoring and evaluation or re-mapping for elected officials is carried out periodically. The limited number of elected officials with different socio-cultural backgrounds is due to the composition of employees and selection participants who mostly come from the East Manggarai Regency area and share the same socio-cultural background.


INTRODUCTION
One of the pivotal issues in Indonesia's reform process is how to achieve good governance.
Employees play a significant role in implementing good governance. Besides that, the strategic role of employees in government administration and development necessitates continuous reform in the civil service sector [1]. The process of civil service reform was also challenged by the enactment of regional autonomy and the authority of Civil Service Officer (PPK) held by political officials. The regional autonomy in which there is ethnocentrism causes the process of filling positions in bureaucracy based on the spirit of regional sons [1]. In accordance with Law Number 5 of 2014, "Civil Service Officer are officials who have the authority to determine the appointment, transfer, and termination of Civil Servants (ASN) employees and foster civil servants' management in government agencies in compliance with the provisions of law and regulations". Therefore, it allows the officials leverage their power to gain political support through the bureaucracy. This concern is also conveyed by Ward [2] in his journal which discuss the difficulty of implementing merit-based bureaucracy that emphasizes achievements, when local bureaucracy enjoys strong discretionary control over the distribution of state resources. Principles of Civil Service. The regulation contains arrangements for Civil Servants Management as an initial step in personnel reform. The reform of civil servants become one of the challenges that are quite heavy and significant for the government. Through bureaucratic reform, the Indonesian government has taken the right step as the designer in implementing reforms in public administration, noting that the patrimonial system that governs Indonesian bureaucrats and its existing values have been seen as obstacles in changing bureaucratic behavior to achieve reform objectives [3].

West Science Interdisciplinary Studies
The demand for improving the performance of public officials is increasing, especially when linked to the government's effort to enhance the country's competitiveness in global competition [4].
Building an effective resource management system is not an overnight task. It requires internal competence and external support, especially from the main actor in the organization, including political leaders, management, employees, and citizens. When pursuing an improvement, the focus should not solely be on speed instead, using the right resources. Indonesia's civil service system or state apparatus has been undergoing continuous improvements, with various steps being taken to maintain independence in its management process. One of the efforts made in managing civil servants is by implementing a merit system, although it is quite lagging compared to other countries such as Singapore, which implemented it earlier. The merit system has long been known in government areas, started by philosophers Aristotle and Plato, who believed that a country should be led by the smartest, most virtuous, and most accomplished individuals. The good side of meritocracy ensures that the bureaucracy has a qualified public service performance capable of designing more targeted programs (Anderson, 2003).
Through the Civil Servant Law, KASN has the function of supervising the implementation of the merit system in government institutions and is responsible for tracking data and information on the implementation of the merit system. To ensure the embodiment of the Merit System, KASN is authorized to carry out monitoring and evaluation of policy implementation of civil servants management in each government institution by assessing the implementation of the merit system based on the adoption of 8 (aspects).
Based on data from KASN (2022), the assessment of the application of the merit system has been carried out by KASN  The Merit System covers 8 (eight) aspects: workforce planning; procurement; career development; promotion and transfer; performance management; compensation, rewards, and discipline; protection and services; and the last aspect is the information system. The merit system in Indonesia was legally formalized in 2014 through Law No. 5/2014 [5] concerning State Civil Apparatus. The law stipulates that qualifications, competencies, and job performance are the foundation of ASN management applied fairly and reasonably without distinguishing between religious background, ancestry, race, skin color, gender, marital status, age, disability (without discrimination), and political background. This system seems to be a criticism of the fertile practice of nepotism and primordialism in the world of work. Therefore, the merit system is one of the results of the bureaucratic reform agenda launched to create a neutral bureaucracy that serves public needs and is free from the practice of Corruption, Collusion, and Nepotism.
NTT Province is a pluralist area with over 50 ethnicities and 3 large islands, making it vulnerable to primordial influences. The issue of primordial influence in civil servants' employee management efforts was once addressed by [6], who explained that 38.9% of respondents stated that personnel placement in the bureaucracy in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT), East Kalimantan, and East Java should be local residents (sons of the region). This aligns with [1] statement that the problem of recruitment in local governments cannot be separated from issues like strong regional egoism, the existence of fraternal and affiliation ties, and the tendency to prioritize local residents (sons of the region). If viewed from the perspective of policy, the condition that prioritizes regional sons regardless of their competence is a form of primordialism culture which is the main root of why meritocracy fails in filling positions from socio-cultural factors [7].
Research [8] found that ethnic and religious elements in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) combine in such a way as to create a primordial sentiment, forming the foundation for bureaucratic behavior in perceiving and approaching all bureaucratic activities, including the pursuit of bureaucratic positions and the dynamics of struggle and access to structural positions. Even though, historically, ethnicity and religion have become the basis that colored the character of early governance in NTT.
This polarization of society within the sphere of ethnicity and religion was later carried over into the dynamics of the NTT government, as seen in the process of regional expansion. Back before the arrival of foreigners, the people of NTT, who inhabited the islands of Flores, Pantar, Sumba, Adonara, Alor, Rote, Sabu, Solor, Timor, and others, hardly had a government system based on customary unity led by a king. Royal relations between one island and kingdoms on other islands were disconnected, often leading to conflicts and wars. The arrival of the Portuguese and Dutch then strengthened this condition. During this period, religion became another significant aspect beyond ethnicity that shaped the communality of people in NTT. This pattern was particularly evident in the Flores region and parts of Timor (Belu and North Central Timor) that were controlled by the Portuguese, which later enlarged into a base for Catholicism, while the Timor region (South Central Timor and Kupang), Sumba, Sabu, and Rote became a base for the enlarged of Christianity and Protestantism [8].
Through the process of recruitment, it is expected that qualified and appropriate officials can be obtained to achieve an effective, efficient and successful local government in serving the community, as previously ethnic considerations in the recruitment process tended to be stronger, especially if there was a similarity in ethnicity (clan) which was then tied to the existence of a "network" with officials in the local government who came from the same ethnicity or clan [9].

LITERATURE REVIEW MERITOCRACY
The merit system is known as the opposite of the spoil system. Guy Peter (1995) provided a more detailed explanation of the relationship between the merit system and the spoil system. The merit system approach is based on the character of bureaucracy developed by Weber, whereby public officials should be selected based on criteria of ability and merit rather than subjective criteria such as caste, sense of class, or language. The assumed selection system in the bureaucracy should be able to recruit the best personnel, and the merit system becomes the instrument to achieve this. In the long run, Merit System will maintain the integrity of the government by ensuring a quality, fair, diligent, and competent recruitment process (Berman, 2015). [10] argues that merit substitutes political action, favoritism, and other discrimination. Merit operates more as a value or principle that implies fairness, equality, and performance in public employment.
[10] describes a merit system as a process for hiring, paying, developing, promoting; retaining, disciplining, and dismissing people based on ability and performance fairly and orderly. [11] simply defines merit as the best person for a particular job, which implies that a person is selected for a position because of their qualities and abilities, not because of non-merit factors such as ethnicity, religion, family, friends, region, social class, gender, wealth, politics, and so on. McCourt defines the best person as first, employment at any level means that the merit principle applies to the promotion and recruitment of new employees. Second, the best candidates are those who prove to be the most accomplished and competent. Third, being open to all means that the appointment process is not from within or internal or from a limited range of candidates. Fourth, systematic, transparent, and competitive means that the process of appointing the best people is done systematically, transparently, and competitively. [11] admits that the practice will encounter several obstacles due to its limited definition. First, obstacles will occur if merit is defined as "able to do the job". Therefore, opportunities for nepotism can occur between the selection committee and its relatives. Second, there will be political patronage, where nepotism is represented as a moral obligation between 'father' and 'son' as expressed by [11], "a social altruist, discharging a noble obligation to political supporters, family members and others". Furthermore, the third obstacle is the possibility of discrimination on irrelevant individual factors such as gender, ethnicity/race, religion, etc.

PRIMORDIALISM AND ETNICITY
Clifford [12]  In other words, he does not explicitly state that the 'gift' from social existence is inherently primordial but rather emphasizes individuals' attachment towards it. [12] perceives this attachment as deep-rooted and perhaps even inevitable from individuals who form ethnic groups or ethnic nations. Meanwhile, [13] asserts that primordial ties are embodied in ethnicity, signifying the relationship between one thing and another that cannot be separated in a person's life, traditionally exists in society, which is continuously present both in the past and today as a collective consciousness.
The correlation between primordialism and ethnicity is also conveyed by [14] that primordialism generally considers that social groups are characterized by descriptions such as culture, religion, territory, language, and social organization that are objectively based as something that is 'given' and cannot be denied. From the points above, it can be seen that there are 4 (four) dominant values in the concept of primordialism politics which are also in line with [6]. The four things are ethnicity, kinship, social status, and customs.

OPEN SELECTION OF HIGH LEADERSHIP POSITION
Berman and others implicitly combine the concepts of recruitment, selection and promotion in a topic "processes and skills: from start to finish" [15]. The selection process will be considered good if it has two categories of variables: criteria and predictors. This success has several factors, such as performance achievement, loyalty, organizational commitment, and good history/background (such as work attitude and behavior and human relations). Meanwhile, predictor variables relate to tasks, expertise, education, and skills to predict whether someone will Regarding the phases in bureaucratic recruitment, according to Thoha [16] there are several phases, such as identifying needs for the procurement of civil servants (including those promoted to officials), identifying requirements, determining potential candidates, selection process, announcing results to candidates and informing candidates who have passed. From this process, it is expected that the officials who will be recruited are qualified and competent so they can develop local governments that are effective, efficient, and successful in serving the public. The first step is an administrative selection to distinguish between those who meet the requirements and those who do not meet the requirements such as educational background, work experience, and licenses. Then, In the second stage, the people who pass the administrative selection and meet the requirements will be identified and screened through various tests such as interviews, background checks, and others in accordance with the number of people who will be included in the next selection. The third stage will be negotiating and selecting the best candidate and his/her backup if Institutions, as follows:

Preparation Stage
The preparation of open selection is done by selecting vacant positions according to the 10 (ten) conditions that have been determined, planning the preparation of the selection along with a document planning and creating a selection committee.

Implementation Stage
The implementation of open selection is done by setting the requirements as a candidate for officials as stated in the letter/announcement and registration procedures. Next, the selection stages, such as submission of applications, background check, administrative selection, and final interviews, as well as the appointment of the best candidates.

Monitoring and Evaluation
The final stage in the open selection process for JPT, which is then carried out by KASN supervising the implementation of the entire process, starts from the formation of the selection committee to the inauguration of PPT and issuing recommendations based on the monitoring results.

METHODS
The paradigm or approach utilizes in this research is the post-positivist paradigm. In this research, the researcher bases this research on existing theories and constructs it into the operationalization of research so it can be closer to reality. It does not depart from the idea of the researcher alone, which then formulates a new theory. In addition, [17] mentioned that research that has been conducted by post-positivist begins with a theory, then collects the data that supports or contradicts the theory and makes necessary revisions before additional testing is performed. In this research, the researcher chose the theories that were deemed suitable for the research problem, then used supporting data collection using qualitative data, which in this research were obtained through interviews and documents.

The Best Person for Every Job
The concept of the best people is defined as having jobs available at every level, the best candidates who have proven to be the most outstanding and competent, the process is available for all, and the implementation is systematic, transparent, and competitive. In the first definition, jobs available at every level are the merit principle which is applied to the promotion and recruitment process based on qualifications, competence, and performance. In the East Manggarai Regency

Selection Process in Filling JPT
The selection process in filling JPT consists of administrative selection screening of candidates with interview mechanisms and background checks, selection process, negotiation, and consideration after the selection. The first process is administrative selection, intending to assess the completeness and suitability of the administrative documents required for participant registration.
Provisions regarding administrative files that are needed to acquire the requirements contained in

Primordialism Ethnicity
Ethnicity is derived from the Greek ethnos, which means a community whose inhabitants come from the same descent [6]. The word ethnic becomes a predicate for the identity of a group or a person [19]. Ethnicity is simply translated as a collection of groups that are shaped to build themselves on togetherness or collectivity centered on common norms, values, beliefs, symbols, and culture [6]. In addition, ethnicity is often based on the similarity of blood [20]. In districts/cities in Indonesia.
Among the more than 45 tribes in East Nusa Tenggara Province, there is a tribe from

Kinship Politics
The phenomenon of kinship politics can be found in various forms and levels of bureaucracy. This is as a result of primordial politics that is closely related to nepotism and collusion, where kinship politics also takes the role of distribution practices among blood family members. [6].
Nepotism can potentially participate in the recruitment process, where basically nepotism can encourage the acceptance process, appointment, and reappointment promotion of family members or close friends in government positions [6].

Social Statues
Social status is often referred to as the position or rank of a person in the community, which reflects the rights and obligations of individuals in practicing behavior [21]. Linton [22]  In the local socio-cultural context of primordialism, no primordialism values were considered in the selection process, whether in terms of ethnicity, kinship politics, social status or customs [23]. At all stages, from administrative requirements to interviews, there were no questions or special requirements related to these aspects of primordialism. Regarding the number of officials