Civil servants

Civil servants

I am writing this letter in response to the article you ran in The Jakarta Post entitled Civil servants lack incentive, competence, dated Nov. 20, 1995. I would like to congratulate the Post on running this article on the realities of the status of government employees in Indonesia and the difficulties encountered in dealing with them.

There has been a strong push recently by top government officials for foreign companies to invest in Indonesia, yet this same support for upholding basic laws concerning corruption, collusion and the relationship between businesses and the government is conspicuously lacking. This situation makes many foreign investors loath to enter the Indonesian market and many that do quickly jump back out after running up against the innumerable obstacles involved in doing business here.

I believe the article gives a realistic illustration of the complexities involved in this situation, but obviously must skirt a few obvious marks in order to remain publishable in the current political climate. I would like to call for any government officials to comment on this story and this sad situation. It is a major stumbling block, nay a wall, that Indonesia must break down before it is to fully accepted in the world of business.

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