Despite people's belief that civil servants' salaries are just

Despite people's belief that civil servants' salaries are just barely enough to live on, many high school and university graduates are still attracted to the civil service.

The abundant number of applicants for recent civil service vacancies in the regencies of Bogor and Tangerang is an example of this.

On the first day, the registration committee in Cibinong, Bogor, was overwhelmed by 5,000 applicants vying for 329 posts available in the Bogor regency.

Why are job-seekers still interested in being civil servants. The old paradigm obviously remains: no dismissals or layoffs, and an eventual pension.

Probably only one out of every 1,000 applicants would be willing to say that they wanted to become a civil servant so they could devote their life to the country. This kind of idealism apparently fades.

Unfortunately, the quality of the job-seekers applying for government jobs is not great. High school and university graduates who have good educational backgrounds and a lot of determination generally prefer going to a private company.

They are aware of the consequence of working for private companies: they can be fired at any time or their companies could go bankrupt. But those who are qualified and determined believe they will have bright careers in the future.

In other countries, like Singapore, the interest in the civil service is very low. The government of Singapore is reportedly offering higher salaries for civil servants to lure more people into the service.

-- Warta Kota, Jakarta

New U.S. immigration regulation discriminative

The new U.S. immigration regulation, which took effect on Oct. 1, is controversial for its discriminatory nature. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has criticized it for its "anti- Muslim hysteria".

U.S. immigration officers will keep a record of the personal identity, including fingerprints and photographs, of anybody suspected of being a terrorist and of anybody coming from any of the 15 countries, including Malaysia, the U.S. believes harbor terrorists.

This new immigration regulation has disrupted the global coalition against terrorism. The U.S. has shown a hostile attitude toward the 15 countries on its terrorist list. These countries formerly supported the U.S.'s war on terrorism, but now feel both disappointed and angry with the U.S.

In fact, the fight against terrorism began to lose its focus when the U.S. threatened to destroy Iraq. President Saddam Hussein must be toppled and replaced by someone who can cooperate with the U.S. and give it huge opportunities in oil exploration.

Massive protest rallies have been held in major European cities, decrying the U.S.'s true motive in planning to attack Iraq and protesting against the U.S.'s bellicose attitude.

The U.S.'s new immigration regulation has only created more tension in the world. -- Kompas, Jakarta