700 civil servants face dismissal

SURABAYA: The government is processing the dismissals of some 700 civil servants for joining political parties, a Cabinet minister says.

State Minister for Administrative Reform Faisal Tamin said in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday that the number of civil servants who had joined political parties was negligible compared to the total number of civil servants, which is about 3.5 million.

"A civil servant has to make a clear choice between political parties and the bureaucracy. Once they become members of political parties, they immediately lose their civil servant status," Faisal said.

Government Regulation No. 12/1999 says civil servants must resign if they wish to join a party.

"That must be stated clearly because we do not want the bureaucracy to side with any party," he said. -- JP