1,000 city administration employee absent

Ahmad Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

About 1,000, or 20 percent of the 5,000 civil servants at City Hall and 60 percent of the City Council's 84 members failed to show up at the office on Wednesday, the first working day after the Idul Fitri holiday.

"We will sanction those people who were absent without a proper excuse," Governor Sutiyoso said after inspecting offices at City Hall.

However, the governor said the number of City Hall employees who showed up for work on the first day after Idul Fitri was higher than last year, when less than 50 percent of employees failed to make it to work.

He said the improved attendance might be the result of the government's decision to extend the Idul Fitri holiday to five days from the two days of past years.

"Maybe they thought the five-day holiday was enough time to spend with their families and relatives during the Idul Fitri celebration," Sutiyoso said.

Administration spokesman Muhayat said the City Inspectorate Office was still identifying those city employees who were absent on Wednesday.

"Especially for high-ranking officials who were absent, it could influence their promotions. They should set a good example for their subordinates," Muhayat said.

It is unclear the total number of employees who did not turn up at the office on Wednesday.

The city administration employs about 90,000 civil servants, including teachers and employees at the mayoralty, district and subdistrict offices. Teachers are still on holiday as schools will not reopen until Monday.

During the governor's inspection, most of the employees who were at the office did not appear to be doing much work. There was a great deal of shaking of hands and discussion of how the holidays went, and very little in the way of actual work.

At the City Revenue Office, after Sutiyoso inspected the first floor a number of employees ran up to the second floor to fill out the chairs before the governor made his way up to the previously empty floor.

At least 51 of 85 councillors, mostly from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan) and the United Development Party (PPP), were absent on Wednesday.

Very few PDI Perjuangan councillors made the trip to the office, though those who did show up included City Council deputy chairman Tarmidi Suhardjo and councillor Ugiek Sugihardjo.

PDI Perjuangan faction chief Agung Imam Sumanto and PPP councillor and City Council deputy chairman Chudlary Syafei Hadzami were absent.

The councillors who were present spent the morning greeting their fellow councillors after the long break before heading home in the afternoon. No sessions or meetings were scheduled in the council on Wednesday.