Clarification sought for

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