Bank Danamon's decision

Bank Danamon's decision

It was on Aug. 11, 2003, that 24 people were selected to
continue in an employee selection process at Bank Danamon,
Prapatan branch, Jakarta. The job we were competing for was not
that prestigious.

We were asked to join the team in the Collection Section. Due
to a strong desire on the part of each of us candidates to
succeed in the selection process, we were prepared to be tolerant
of any indignities we might be made to suffer as part of the
process.

On Aug. 14, 2003, Bank Danamon told us verbally that we had
been selected. After a while, we heard other news from the bank
that one of our "classmates," Teddy, reported that he had lost
his cell phone. Immediately, a bank employee was assigned to
search for the item in every handbag, purse, pocket and every
corner of the room. Nothing was found.

Surprisingly, Collection Section head Agus Purnomo decided to
cancel the entire recruitment process and terminated the
employment of all 24 participants, saying that he did not want a
thief to be part of his team. All of us had therefore been
suspected of theft, without evidence, and with no opportunity to
defend ourselves.

It seems that Agus knew well that he was dealing with ordinary
citizens whom he did not fear, because the law that protects
ordinary citizens in this country is toothless. It seems he
enjoyed acting like a god who could play with the fate of other
people exactly as he wished. In fact, among 24 candidates were
participants from Bandung and even Riau.

On the other hand, Teddy made a "wise" step that led to this
harebrained decision, despite the relatively low value of his
cell phone, which was only about Rp 600,000 to Rp 800,000.

BERNARD GANDATUA SIRAIT
Jakarta