Brokers barred from ID card process
JAKARTA (JP): A deputy governor said yesterday the administration will no longer permit brokers to help people applying for ID cards, and asked all mayoralty and district officials to improve their services to the public.
"I do not want to hear any more news about illegal levies and irresponsible service bureaus in connection with the issuance of ID cards," Idroes, the deputy governor for administrative affairs, said. He was referring to recent reports on the high costs involved in the ID issuance process in the East Jakarta mayoralty.
The city administration does not recognize any brokers in issuing ID cards, Idroes said when installing the new deputy mayor for East Jakarta, Andi Mappaganty, and the secretary, Chalid Ismail Balaw.
Mappaganty, a former mayoralty secretary, replaced Edi Tarmidi who moved to the municipal bureau for village social development. Chalid, former assistant to the mayoralty secretary, replaced Mappaganty.
Idroes said the issue of illegal levies could erode public trust in the municipal administration.
Governor Surjadi Soedirdja was enraged last month by a local newspaper report about ID card issuance fees in East Jakarta, which was said to range between Rp 500,000 (US$211) and Rp 2 million.
In a further development, East Jakarta Mayor Sudarsono said he has investigated the reports.
"The report on brokerage of ID cards issuance, which was said to charge fees of Rp 2 million, was not true," Sudarsono said.
He said last week that he was not offended by such a report, and thanked reporters for any bad news.
"Bad news, which I do not get from my subordinates, actually functions like a whip, pushing officials to provide better services to the public," said Sudarsono.
The official fee for one ID card is Rp 1,000. For first-time applicants, however, a transport warranty fee is added, which charges them for coming to Jakarta and returning to their original provinces.
According to the administration regulation, someone coming from Irian Jaya for example, has to pay a Rp 320,000 warranty fee for the city ID card.
A source who refused to be identified told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the city administration will change the policy on the ID card issuance fee.
He said the fee, the amount of which is to be decided later, will replace the transport warranty fee.
"According to the new regulation, the fee amount to be paid by Jakarta ID card applicants is not based on where they come from. Every applicant will pay the same amount," he added.
So far, the charge to ID card applicants varies, depending on the distance of their hometowns from Jakarta. Theoretically, the money should be returned to the applicants after they receive their IDs. However, no applicants have received their money back, and there have been no reports on where the money goes. (kod)