Courage in crisis<\/p>\n
Given the limited funds at the government's disposal,
\nPresident Megawati's decision to raise the routine budget is
\nworth complimenting.<\/p>\n
Salaries of the military and police personnel and pensioners
\nwill go up by 10 percent as from January 1, 2003 while teachers
\nwill enjoy a 50 percent increase in their allowances starting
\nOctober 1, 2002.<\/p>\n
The routine budget has also been increased because of the
\ngovernment's plan to recruit more civil servants (particularly
\nteachers, medical personnel, soldiers and police personnel),
\npreparations for the 2004 General Election, natural disaster
\nmanagement and reserve funds in case of additional budgetary
\nexpenditure.<\/p>\n
However, the government needs to show further courage in
\nremoving civil servants who have shown poor performance,
\nespecially those asking for bribes, an act prompted, perhaps, by
\ntheir low salaries.<\/p>\n
Still, to achieve greater efficiency and improve services, the
\ngovernment must show further courage and take up China as its
\nmodel.<\/p>\n
Formerly, the Chinese bureaucracy was very corrupt but after
\nthe government replaced the division heads upwards with fresh
\nblood not yet contaminated by corruption, China has been
\nrelatively free of corruption. Unauthorized fees, which jack up
\ninvestment and production costs, have virtually disappeared.
\nHence the very low prices of Chinese products.<\/p>\n
So, the government must have the courage to restructure the
\ncivil service as a whole. -- Bisnis Indonesia, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Public telephones vandalized<\/p>\n
Some 1,600 out of 28,296 public telephones across Jakarta have
\nbeen damaged, an executive of Telkom regional division II, Thomik
\nDharmawan, has said.<\/p>\n
Although many residents of Jakarta and its satellite towns now
\nown fixed lines and mobile telephones, public telephones are
\nstill needed by those who cannot afford private telephones.<\/p>\n
Public telephones are helpful as many are located in
\nhospitals, police stations, government offices and on the
\nroadsides. In an emergency, you can just go to a public telephone
\nbooth to find the telephone numbers of important government
\nagencies.<\/p>\n
Indonesians, particularly those in major cities, have a
\npenchant for tampering with public facilities. Many street lights
\nare damaged or lost, bus stops are full of graffiti, park benches
\nare damaged, for example.<\/p>\n
Therefore, all Jakarta residents and all government offices
\nmust consider it their responsibility to look after public
\nfacilities. Anybody damaging them must be punished at the scene
\nof the incident as a lesson for other offenders. --- Warta Kota,
\nJakarta<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/bcourage-in-crisisb-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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