ICW unveils graft in driver's license office<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): People do not have to be able to drive to obtain
\na drivers license in this city. A drivers license can be obtained
\nquickly -- even within an hour or two -- as long as they have
\nthe money. No such thing as a driving test, or written test.<\/p>\n
Non-governmental organization, Indonesian Corruption Watch
\n(ICW) presented their survey results on Thursday which reveal
\njust how terrible and corrupted the procedure for obtaining a
\ndrivers license in the city is.<\/p>\n
Drivers licenses are obtained at the police station on Jl.
\nDaan Mogot, West Jakarta, where around 2,000 people apply for the
\ndocument every day.<\/p>\n
The ICW survey involved a total of 300 respondents who had
\nobtained a drivers license in the past six months.<\/p>\n
Out of the total respondents, nearly half of them, or 43.4
\npercent used the service of middlemen.<\/p>\n
Sixty two people, or 20.6 percent obtained it with the help of
\nan "insider" in the police station and 5.4 percent obtained it
\ncollectively.<\/p>\n
"The reason given why they did not obtain it by themselves was
\nbecause they didn't have the time and because of the complicated
\nbureaucracy in the police station," Heni Yulianto from ICW's
\npublic service performance monitoring division told a media
\nconference.<\/p>\n
About 100 people, or 30.6 percent in the survey, were
\napparently still willing to obtain a drivers license by
\nthemselves.<\/p>\n
"But only 9.8 percent actually paid the official fee. In the
\nend, many of them paid as much as those people who used
\nmiddlemen," Heni said.<\/p>\n
The official fee for a drivers license is Rp 52,500 (US$4.70).<\/p>\n
Through middlemen, or insiders, almost half of the respondents
\nhad to pay between Rp 101,000 and Rp 150,000.<\/p>\n
ICW's coordinator Teten Masduki said that there were fees that
\nhad to be paid at almost every counter, with no receipts
\nprovided.<\/p>\n
"Speaking from personal experience, I had to pay an extra Rp
\n50,000 for a health examination, insurance premium, form,
\nregistration, photograph and license jacket. A receipt was only
\ngiven for the insurance premium of Rp 15,000," he said.<\/p>\n
Teten estimated that there were some 500 middlemen around the
\npolice station. "And police always give them priority," he said.<\/p>\n
As for the driving test, the poll showed that even out of
\nthose who obtained the license by themselves, nearly 40 percent
\nof them did not take the test.<\/p>\n
In fact, corruption in the driving license application process
\nis not new at all.<\/p>\n
The document used to be processed at the city police
\nheadquarters on Jl. Jend. Sudirman, but in 1997, it was moved to
\nJl. Daan Mogot, not only because the police headquarters could no
\nlonger accommodate the increasing number of applicants, but also
\nin the hope that it would curb the practice of corruption.<\/p>\n
Earlier last year, a massive operation involving military
\npolice was conducted at the new location on Jl. Daan Mogot. No
\nmiddlemen dared to offer their services there for a while. After
\na week, however, things were back to "normal."<\/p>\n
According to Teten, ICW will present its report to the
\nNational Police Chief.<\/p>\n
"Hopefully, the police will pay more attention to improve
\ntheir services to public, rather than making a fuss about their
\nleaders," he said.<\/p>\n
In the future, Teten said, ICW would propose a life-long
\nlicense, not a five-year license like at present.<\/p>\n
"So, people could only obtain it once in their lives.
\nTherefore, if there's still any corruption, it would be reduced,"
\nhe asserted.(hdn)<\/p>",
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