Public service quality remains a major challenge in many regions of Indonesia. Citizens often face lengthy bureaucratic procedures, slow administrative responses, limited service accessibility, and declining public trust in government institutions. According to the researchers, these issues are not solely administrative or technical; they are also closely linked to leadership approaches within local government.
In West Java, Sundanese cultural values such as silih asah (mutual learning), silih asih (mutual care), silih asuh (mutual guidance), mutual cooperation (gotong royong), courtesy, and social solidarity offer valuable ethical foundations for public administration. When these values are embedded in government institutions, public service becomes more than an administrative obligation—it evolves into a commitment to serving, protecting, and empowering communities.
The researchers employed a qualitative descriptive approach using a conceptual case study. Data were collected through document analysis and an extensive review of literature on cultural leadership, symbolic leadership, public administration, service quality, social capital, and sound governance. The collected materials were then analyzed using thematic content analysis to identify how cultural values influence leadership practices and public service transformation.
Three Dimensions of Culture-Based Leadership
The study identifies three core dimensions that shape culture-based leadership.
The first is the symbolic dimension, reflected in the use of Sundanese cultural identity, local language, traditional symbols, and cultural representations in public communication. These cultural symbols reduce the psychological distance between government leaders and citizens, helping to build stronger trust and social legitimacy.
The second is the value dimension, which incorporates the principles of silih asah, silih asih, and silih asuh into public service ethics. These values encourage civil servants to work not only according to formal procedures but also with empathy, compassion, responsibility, and a genuine commitment to helping citizens.
The third is the social dimension, demonstrated through direct interaction with communities, field visits, horizontal communication, and rapid responses to public concerns. Rather than waiting for citizens to visit government offices, leaders actively engage with communities and address problems where they occur.
Building Public Trust Through Culture
The research reveals a strong relationship between culture-based leadership and public trust.
Public confidence grows when citizens observe consistency between a leader’s cultural symbols, personal values, and concrete actions. Cultural identity alone is insufficient if it remains ceremonial. However, when cultural values are translated into responsive, fair, and transparent public services, trust in government increases significantly.
Higher levels of public trust also encourage greater community participation. In West Java, the tradition of gotong royong functions as social capital that strengthens collaboration between government and society in solving public problems. Citizens become active partners in governance rather than passive recipients of government services.
More Responsive and Accessible Public Services
The study highlights three major contributions of culture-based leadership to public service improvement.
First, it enhances bureaucratic responsiveness, enabling government institutions to address public complaints more quickly.
Second, it improves communication accessibility, creating more open and informal channels between citizens and public leaders.
Third, it encourages community participation, allowing residents to become more actively involved in local development and decision-making.
These three elements align with modern public service standards that emphasize speed, accessibility, transparency, accountability, and citizen satisfaction.
Supporting Sound Governance
The researchers further connect culture-based leadership with the concept of sound governance, which emphasizes adaptive, ethical, innovative, and context-sensitive governance rather than administrative compliance alone.
According to the UMJ research team, local cultural values can bridge the gap between modern public administration and community expectations. Administrative reform should therefore focus not only on improving efficiency but also on strengthening social legitimacy, public participation, and cultural relevance.
However, the researchers caution that culture-based leadership should not depend entirely on the personal charisma of individual leaders. Cultural values need to be institutionalized through standard operating procedures, responsive complaint management systems, performance evaluation mechanisms, staff capacity development, and measurable service indicators.
Recommendations for Local Governments
Based on the findings, the researchers recommend that local governments integrate cultural values into public service systems through several strategic initiatives:
Develop public service standard operating procedures based on local wisdom.
Strengthen the capacity of civil servants through culture-oriented service training.
Improve public complaint mechanisms to ensure faster responses.
Establish measurable service performance indicators.
Involve citizens in evaluating public service quality.
These strategies are expected to produce public services that are not only faster and more efficient but also more humane, inclusive, equitable, and trusted by the community.
According to Yasef Firmansyah, Rahmat Salam, and Taufiqurokhman from Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta, culture should not be viewed merely as a regional identity or ceremonial symbol. Instead, it represents a strategic resource capable of strengthening government legitimacy, fostering public participation, and improving the overall quality of public services. Integrating local cultural values with the principles of sound governance offers a practical pathway toward sustainable public sector reform in Indonesia.
Author Profiles
Yasef Firmansyah is a doctoral student in the Public Administration Program at Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta. His research focuses on public leadership, governance, public service reform, and public policy.
Prof. Dr. Rahmat Salam is a senior academic at Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta, specializing in public administration, governance, public management, and bureaucratic reform.
Prof. Dr. Taufiqurokhman is a professor at Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta with expertise in public administration, governance, public policy, and organizational development in the public sector.
Research Source
Article Title: Good Governance in Policy Communication Governance for the Improvement of Digital Public Services
Authors: Yasef Firmansyah, Rahmat Salam, and Taufiqurokhman
Affiliation: Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta
Journal: International Journal of Applied and Scientific Research (IJASR)
Year: 2026
Keywords: Culture-Based Leadership, Public Service, West Java, Dedi Mulyadi, Sound Governance
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