Jakarta holiday blues<\/p>\n
Nothing better illustrates the Indonesian penchant for
\nextending official holidays than the long and extensive media
\ncoverage of arus balik -- people returning to the capital city
\nafter the Idul Fitri holiday.<\/p>\n
For more than a week now, newspaper readers and television
\nviewers in Jakarta have been presented with coverage of throngs
\nof people jostling at bus and railway stations in the city and
\ncrowding roads in packed vehicles, braving bad weather and all
\nsorts of inconvenience, simply to get away from the city. After
\nthe first few days, similar scenes can be seen taking place in
\nprovincial cities as the surge of people takes place in the
\nopposite direction -- away from the provinces and back to the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
It must be admitted that for the overwhelming majority of
\npeople in this country, who are Muslims, Idul Fitri, or Lebaran,
\nhas been one of the most important holidays for as long as people
\ncan remember. The day marks the end of the holy fasting month of
\nRamadhan and is celebrated not only in this country, but all over
\nthe Muslim world as a day of victory -- over oneself and one's
\npassions, and as a token of man's submission to God's will.<\/p>\n
In acknowledgment of this religious significance -- and at the
\nsame time taking some economic benefit from millions of people
\ntraveling and spending money in faraway towns and rural areas --
\nthe government has, since last year, decided to extend the normal
\ntwo-day Lebaran holiday to one week or more, as the occasion
\ndemands, declaring the extra days "collective paid leave." The
\nidea, presumably, is to make official something that people have
\nbeen doing all along anyway: In practice, for many workers in
\nJakarta the Lebaran holiday has never been limited to a mere two
\ndays.<\/p>\n
Anticipating the expected, however, the authorities warned
\nthat sanctions would be taken against anyone found to be absent
\nfrom work after the officially approved holiday was over. Civil
\nservants absent on the first day of work for no acceptable reason
\nwould lose the regular pay rise they would normally receive for
\none period -- which, by the way, was a mere Rp 10,000 to Rp
\n20,000, per day depending on the pay scale.<\/p>\n
As Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso and State Minister of
\nAdministrative Reforms Feisal Tamin discovered, the threat of
\nsanctions proved ineffective for many civil servants. That amount
\nof money, after all, would buy an employee little more than a
\nsimple lunch. Perhaps to still the public's criticism of the
\ninsignificance of the amount, Feisal warned that punishment also
\nmeant that offending civil servants' records would be marked
\naccordingly, which could affect their career in the long term.<\/p>\n
Harmless as the habit of adding a few days to official
\nholidays may seem to some, the tendency can do serious harm to
\nthe public interest, not least to business and commerce.
\nComplaints have been heard during the first few days after the
\nrecent public holiday of long lines of people waiting in vain to
\nbe served at government offices. There were reports of e-mail and
\nother modern services that failed to work. In all of this,
\nbusiness and commerce are the worst affected.<\/p>\n
It is high time that everyone, especially this country's civil
\nservant corps -- and in the private sector as well -- understands
\nthat time lost means not only money lost, but opportunities as
\nwell. Punctuality and a positive work ethic are therefore
\nessential if this nation is to fulfill its ambition to enter the
\nranks of modern nations.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jakarta-holiday-blues-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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