Applications for passports double, new forms scarce

JAKARTA (JP): The number of passports issued in Greater Jakarta last month doubled to 34,302 from 15,215 in May, leaving many immigration offices short of new passports to issue and forcing their employees to work overtime, an official said yesterday.

Director General of Immigration Pranowo told reporters that those who had successfully received passports included individuals and families claiming they had plans for a vacation abroad for the June-July school holiday and those who said they worked overseas.

The new passport owners named destinations like "Singapore, Hong Kong and China", Pranowo said.

He, however, did not reveal the figures of last year's corresponding period.

Residents of the greater Jakarta area can apply for passports at six immigration offices.

According to data from Pranowo's office, the biggest increase in service last month occurred at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport office in Cengkareng.

The office issued 2,654 passports, three times the 856 handed out in May.

The West Jakarta office gave out 12,213 passports, more than doubling its May count of 5,669.

The Tanjung Priok office distributed 7,893 passports compared to 3,719 recorded in the previous month. The South Jakarta office issued 2,852, up from 1,292 issued last month, while East Jakarta gave out 4,114 compared to 2,103, and Central Jakarta 4,456 from 1,676.

The data did not explain where the remaining 120 passports were issued.

The unanticipated rise in passport demand in the capital left many immigration offices in Jakarta and some other cities suffering from a scarcity of new passports, which are printed by the state security printing and minting firm, Perum Peruri, Pranowo said.

Peruri can only supply 5,000 passport books per day for all of the country's 83 immigration offices, he said.

"At the moment, the stock of new passports at the immigration offices in Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya and Medan is still inadequate," Pranowo said.

"I've asked Peruri, through the Ministry of Justice, to print more forms in order to solve the problem," he added.

The unexpected increase in demand, Pranowo said, has prompted immigration personnel at Jakarta offices to work as late as 10 p.m.

"The Tanjung Priok office, for instance, has now been able to issue 350 passports per day on average, compared to 200 before," he said.

Pranowo said the trend was mainly due to growing doubts felt by some residents over the country's current security situation, prompting many to obtain the necessary documents to leave the country.

Following the May 12 Trisakti shootings, Jakarta was then rocked by a series of brutal riots, looting and rape.

Hundreds of shops, banks and business offices, whose owners were mainly Chinese-Indonesians, were set on fire or damaged.

The most affected area was West Jakarta, which is home to many Chinese-Indonesian families.

Asked whether most of the applicants were of Chinese descent, Pranowo said his office never applied differences toward applicants' with family backgrounds of the applicants as long as they have official documents about their Indonesian citizenship.

He also urged people to report any wrongdoing committed by his staff to his office by clearly stating the identities of the employees.

Pranowo said there were no fees other than official tariffs totaling Rp 110,000 (US$7.60) to obtain a passport. The amount, he said, included Rp 75,000 for the application forms, Rp 30,000 for the photographs and Rp 5,000 for the fingerprints file. (bsr)