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)