Clarification sought for

As a taxpayer for a motorized vehicle license in the reform era, in which democracy, human rights and the law are upheld and corruption, collusion and nepotism have been eradicated, I find the following case strange:

I have a Mercedes made in 1982 and pay the tax for its license every Nov. 11. In 1999 I paid Rp 518,400 and in 2000 I paid Rp 981,400 (an increase of 89.3 percent), an amount which, in my opinion, is insensibly too high. As I paid the tax six days late, i.e. on Nov. 17, 2000, I had to pay a fine amounting to Rp 230,900 (44.6 percent).

When we asked to see the list of motorized vehicle license taxes for the year 2000, we were told that it was confidential and only available for the police. In fact, in the New Order era this list was easily available.

My question is: Why is this list kept confidential in the present era of reform while during the New Order era it was not?

To go back to my earlier story, I paid the tax and the fine, a total of Rp 1,212,300 (Rp 981,400 + Rp 230,900).

I was shocked, however, to see that the receipt and validation of the motorized vehicle license was not recorded in the column designated for administrative sanctions and the amount of the fine (Rp 230,900) was also not mentioned.

To make sure that things were right, several days later I inquired why the amount of the fine was not written down and recorded. The policeman in charge calmly told me that the money had been equally distributed amongst the staff.

Therefore, we would appreciate any clarification of the above matter from any relevantly authorized government agencies.

H. ILHAMY ELIAS

Jakarta