Banks, JSX closed for the holidays

Bank Indonesia said it would not conduct transactions on Dec. 25, Dec. 26, Dec. 31, and Jan. 1, 2004, during the year-end Christmas and New Year celebrations.

The announcement means that domestic banks, which will follow suit, will only have two working days during this period, on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.

Banks have said they would intensify other services because of the limited opportunity for direct transactions -- by ensuring the availability of cash in automatic teller machines (ATMs) and speedy processing of Internet-based transactions, for example -- to help customers cope with the situation.

The central bank said in a press statement it would resume normal activities on Jan. 2, as would other banks in the country.

The Jakarta Stock Exchange (JSX) has also set its holiday schedule, which was determined largely on Bank Indonesia's announcement.

In addition to the dates set out by the central bank, the JSX will not conduct trading activities on Dec. 24, Christmas Eve. It will reopen trading on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30, before fully resuming activities on Jan. 2.

Public services provided by the bureaucracy will also take a break for the Christmas, and civil servants will take mass leave on Dec. 26, while those who have six-day work weeks will also take Dec. 27 off.

"Civil servants should resume work on Dec. 29," Ahmad Fahnaina, spokesman for the office of the State Minister for Administrative Reforms, said on Monday.

The government earlier announced an extended weekend for civil servants in observance of Christmas.

Since last year, civil servants have been ordered to take leave en mass to celebrate Idul Fitri and Christmas, a move made in an effort to boost domestic tourism, which had plummeted following the October 2002 Bali bombings.

State Minister for Administrative Reforms Feisal Tamin said the extended holidays had improved the civil servants' discipline, although critics say it did not necessarily enhance their productivity. -- JP