A bad first impression

A bad first impression

From Kompas

My brother and family as citizens of the People's Republic of China visited Indonesia as tourists and as my personal guests. When they were about to fly home on Jan. 31, my brother was surprised when an airport immigration officer persistently asked for money, which was hard to reject under the circumstances.

The problem in this case is the practice of immigration personnel rather than the money itself. The Soekarno-Hatta International Airport represents the face of Indonesia for foreign tourists. The behavior of such officers embarrasses me.

I contacted the head of the airport's immigration unit, who promised to take action against his men. I sincerely hope that immigration authorities will replace their personnel, particularly at Soekarno-Hatta, and rid the airport of such abuse of office for personal gain.

BENNY GUNAWAN Jakarta