It is no secret that public service is a right of the people and an obligation for the state to fulfill. But do the people strive earnestly to obtain their rights? The answer, unfortunately, is “no.”
Does the government provide good public services? The answer is “not yet,” despite many efforts having been made.
Although it is no secret, most people do not fully understand their rights, both in terms of the types of services available and the mechanisms they can use to obtain them. On the providers’ side, awareness of their role in serving the public to ensure quality services is still not widely understood.
This small book provides information on public service as a right of the people and a duty of the state. It contains information on what public service is, what the state is obligated to provide, as well as the laws and regulations that guarantee these rights and obligations. Information regarding the public’s right to participate in public service delivery—from planning and implementation to monitoring and oversight—is also presented here.
There is one public right that receives greater emphasis in this book: the right to file complaints or express dissatisfaction regarding public services. This is based on the consideration that existing complaint-handling practices in public service institutions tend to be viewed merely as a “need of the service provider” to gather input for improvement. Consequently, complaints are not seen as a right of the public. As an implication, citizens cannot monitor whether their complaints are handled, how the process works, or the guarantee of resolution.
This book outlines what the public can do to file complaints to improve the quality of public services and suggests how complaint-handling mechanisms should ideally work.
The final section provides several examples of information regarding public administrative service procedures.
It is hoped that this book will serve as a general guide or reference: for the public, to better understand their rights; for public service providers, to understand their role in delivering better service; and for civil society organizations concerned with higher-quality public service delivery.
May this small book contribute to increasing public participation in achieving better public service delivery.
