Civil servants face first day back

The Jakarta Post, Makassar/Semarang/Bandung

Public services resumed nationwide on Wednesday after a week's break for Idul Fitri, however service was slower than usual as the holiday mood prevailed.

Rather than knuckling down to work, most civil servants attended halal bihalal functions (a post-Idul Fitri gathering in which everyone asks for forgiveness).

At the gatherings, the civil servants form a large circle and shake hands, asking each other for forgiveness as was the case in Bandung, West Java.

In the city, some three hours away from Jakarta, civil servants congregated at their respective offices at 7 a.m, chatting in groups about their holidays.

Hundreds of civil servants lined up to shake hands with West Java Governor Danny Setiawan and top West Java officials at the gubernatorial office. Morning tea was provided, but rather than returning to their desks after eating, the civil servants made a swift departure for their homes, though it was not yet noon.

"What can we do? It is normal to return home early on the first working day after the holiday. We will resume our regular routines on Monday," said Aini (not her real name), a government employee at the secretariat of the West Java council.

Some superiors of the civil servants were not prepared to put a dampener on things either.

South Sulawesi Mayor Ilham Arif Sirajuddin said he would not force his employees to work as normal, knowing they were still in a holiday mood.

However, some hope can be gleaned from the low rate of absenteeism in government offices on Wednesday. At the West Java administration and council, some 90 percent of the total 1,300 civil servants turned up for work on the first day after the holiday. In Makassar municipality, only one percent of the total 3,000 civil servants did not turn up on Wednesday.

Makassar Mayor Arif had earlier warned civil servants considering skipping work on the first day after the holiday they would be punished under Government Decree No. 30/1981, which stipulates a written reprimand or dismissal for nonattenders.

In Semarang, many civil servants said they came to work on Wednesday for fear of an impromptu visit by the Central Java governor.

Earlier, Governor Mardiyanto had warned he would visit government offices in the province on the first working day after the holiday and those who skipped work would be punished according to the government decree.