Complaints PO Box gets good public response
Complaints PO Box gets good public response
JAKARTA (JP): Two weeks after being launched, the post office
box set up by the city administration to receive complaints about
the illegal activities of city employees has received 150
letters, an official said yesterday.
Deputy governor for development affairs Abdul Kahfi said the
team which was set up to handle letters addressed to PO Box 0008,
Jakarta 10900, would soon begin to question officials named in
the complaints.
"Most of the letters complained about corruption, extortion,
collusion and nepotism which was being practiced by our
officials," he told reporters.
However, only 15 percent of the letters received could be used
in his team's investigations because they had been submitted with
the complete address of the senders, he said.
The remaining letters could not be used because none of the
senders were willing to put their full name and address on their
complaints, he added.
Kahfi refused to disclose the exact number or identities of
the officials facing investigation.
"The majority of the officials (accused in the letters) are
alleged to have demanded illegal levies from members of the
public," he said.
He said the final results of the team's investigation would
not be made available to the public.
"What is the benefit of exposing the officials. The important
thing is for us to investigate the allegations and impose the
proper sanctions on those who are found guilty," Kahfi said.
The special mail box was officially launched on June 24 by
Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso as part of the administration's efforts
to implement massive reforms to improve the quality of the city's
public services.
"People can freely report their complaints to us but they must
put their name, address, and full details of their allegations,
including the name and office of the corrupt officials, on any
correspondence they send to us" said Kahfi, who leads the so-
called Reform Control and Supervision Team.
The administration had guaranteed that all complaints
submitted will be treated in full confidentiality, he added.
Cheating
Kahfi's decision to focus only on complaints which include the
senders full name and address and ignore anonymous letters was
strongly criticized by city councilors.
A senior councilor from the United Development Party faction,
Saud Rahman, accused the administration of trying to conceal the
darker side to its office.
"All reports must be investigated thoroughly and the results
made available to the public.
Retaining the results of investigations within the
administration is the same as freezing the cases and cheating the
public," he said.
Saud said the commission should not have ignored the remaining
complaints just because the senders did not provide their full
name and address.
"The bottom line here is that we have to investigate all
complaints, regardless of who submitted them.
The senders might have deliberately concealed their identity
to guard themselves against further harassment from the corrupt
officials," he added.
A representative from the Golkar faction, Amarullah Asbah,
demanded that Kahfi and his team act in a more transparent
manner.
"Revealing malfeasance to the public is a must. No benefit can
be gained from hiding it because the public have already known
what the situation is... administration officials are
notoriously corrupt and all Jakarta's citizens know that," he
said. (cst)