Angry Sutiyoso threatens AWOL subordinates

Angry Sutiyoso threatens AWOL subordinates

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

While Wednesday was officially the first day of work after the
week-long Idul Fitri holiday, many civil servants ignored threats
of demotion and sanctions to extend their holiday by at least
another day.

And even those civil servants who did show up did not seem to
be in a working mood, with most chatting with colleagues or
playing computer games.

"I am disappointed that so many civil servants are absent.
Those absent civil servants have shown a lack of responsibility.
I will impose stern sanctions against them, including demoting
them," Governor Sutiyoso said during visits to several city
agencies on Jl. Medan Merdeka Selatan and Jl. Jatibaru in Tanah
Abang, Central Jakarta.

Similar threats were issued days before the end of the Idul
Fitri holiday.

At the City Land Office, Sutiyoso found that 67 of 167 civil
servants had failed to sign in.

"Please check (whether they have a valid reason for not coming
to the office). If they do not have a legitimate excuse, they
will be sanctioned," the governor said.

Of the 150 civil servants at City Planning Agency (Bapeda),
only 26 were in the office on Wednesday.

"I will only tolerate those people who were unable to come to
the office for some valid reason, such as illness or a traffic
accident. I will not tolerate those who simply decided they did
not want to come to work," Sutiyoso said.

During his visit to Bapeda, Sutiyoso spotted a game on an
empty computer.

"Whose computer is that?" Sutiyoso asked.

A clearly nervous head of Bapeda's administrative affairs
division, Nugraha K. Yasin, said the computer belonged to an
employee who was out of the office on an official duty.

"He (computer owner) is here today, but he is out of the
office auditing a financial report in a subdistrict," Nugraha
said.

Sutiyoso also ordered all mayors and city agency heads to
check on their subordinates.

Accompanied by city secretary Ritola Tasmaya, assistant to the
city secretary for development affairs Nurfaqih Wirawan, City
Audit Agency head Firman Hutajulu and City Personnel Bureau head
Sukesti Martono, Sutiyoso visited the offices of Bapeda, the City
Personnel Bureau, the City Parks Agency and the City
Transportation Agency.

City Parks Agency head Sarwo Handhayani and City
Transportation head Agency Nurrachman were not seen in their
offices during the visits.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the City Council's Board of Ethics,
Nur Alam Bactir, said at least 19 of 75 city councillors were
absent on Wednesday for a variety of reasons, including
"traveling abroad, visiting deceased neighbors and attending a
relative's party".

"We can only reprimand them. Heavier sanctions can be imposed
by the factions they belong to," Nur Alam said.

Last year, 180 civil servants failed to show up for work after
the Idul Fitri holiday, receiving sanctions such as allowance
cuts.

In 2003, Sutiyoso dismissed City Parks Agency head Maurits
Napitupulu after he did not arrive for work after Idul Fitri,
replacing him with Sarwo Handhayani.