Bekasi detectives win 1995 best service award

JAKARTA (JP): The crime investigation unit of the Bekasi police force in West Java, which solved the recent headline grabbing gang-rape case in a matter of days, won one of the 10 awards given out by President Soeharto yesterday to state agencies truly dedicated to the public.

Soeharto yesterday personally presented the Abdisatyabakti award to Captain Edward Penong, the chief detective at the Bekasi precinct, during a ceremony at the State Palace.

State Minister of Administrative Reform T.B. Silalahi, whose office headed the selection team, said in his report that the Bekasi crime investigation unit's swiftness in solving the rape was one reason it had been chosen for the award.

This is the first time that the awards have been handed out. They are viewed as an incentive to all government agencies to compete with one another in providing the best services they can to the public.

The other nine recipients were the PLN (electricity company) office in Cempaka Putih, Central Jakarta, the PDAM (drinking water supply company) in Bogor, West Java, the Civil Registry Office in Semarang, Central Java, the General Hospital in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, the Immigration Office in Batam, Riau, the Telephone Office in West Jakarta, the Land and Property Tax collection office in South Jakarta, the Lung Treatment Hall in Surakarta, Central Java, and the Motor Vehicle Testing Unit in Ujungpandang, South Sulawesi.

The winners were selected by a team that included representatives from consumer advocates, politicians and the media.

Silalahi said that besides the 10 award winners, 24 other government units were given certificates in recognition of their dedication to the public.

Among the 24 include PDAM (drinking water supply company) in Padang, West Sumatra, PT Angkasa Pura II which manages Terminal A of Soekarno-Hatta airport in Jakarta, the public service unit at Palembang police headquarters in South Sumatra, and the Islamic religious service unit in Cengkareng, West Jakarta.

In his speech, President Soeharto said all government agencies should strive to improve their services to the public, and eliminate regulations and procedures that hamper their efforts.

He said that some regulations were enacted in the past because the government put precedence on rules. "In the past, the government's emphasized regulations and procedures. This meant that the quality of services to the public was subordinated to second place."

The time has now come for the government to put public services as their chief priority, he said.

Soeharto also called on all government agencies to improve their effectiveness and efficiency and to become more sensitive to public demands.

He refuted the often cited excuse that a lack of funds made government agencies less sensitive to people's needs. "Sensitiveness is formed from one's mental attitude and is also a reflection of the ideology one adopts," he said.

The President underlined that it is the people who are sovereign, including over the administration.

"The principle of people's sovereignty should not only be applied during the People's Consultative Assembly to elect the president and vice president and to draw up state policy guidelines.

"The principle of people's sovereignty should be applied every day," he said. (emb)