Facing the red tape in public services, its reality

By Christiani S. Tumelap and Stevie Emilia

JAKARTA (JP): "There's no need to do it yourself, just pay more and you'll get it fast." That's familiar advice anytime one plans to apply for a driver's license or an identity card.

The advice might be untrue, but it is no secret that one can get both driver's license and identity card processed faster and easier if extra rupiah is attached to the documents.

"Once, I got really frustrated when I was told by a subdistrict official that my identity card would take over a month, even though I had all the complete documents," said Kuntjoro, a marketing executive.

Just to renew an identity card, one should provide a copy of their family registration card, photos, a copy of the expired card and the Rp 1,000 fee. With all these documents, it should only take one day to process.

"But when I told the official that I badly needed the card and gave him an extra Rp 30,000, he told me I could pick up my card in three days," he said. "It's really amazing."

It's the same story with applying for a driver's license, or SIM as it is called here.

As soon as one enters the Jakarta license bureau on Jl. Daan Mogot in West Jakarta -- designed to limit the operations of brokers and "bad" officers -- applicants are instantly surrounded by touts. All of them raise the same questions: "Want to get a new SIM? Want to renew your SIM? Let me help you."

The touts might be annoying, but some people, whose tight work schedule makes it impossible for them to wait for hours to get a license, making use of a tout's service may be favorable.

"It's impossible to escape from my office for hours just to renew my driver's licenses. So I regularly used touts, it's faster than having to line up and follow each procedure," said Linawati, a public relations officer.

Driver's licenses applicants frequently end up paying twice to five times the official rate of Rp 62,500, which includes Rp 52,500 for application forms and Rp 10,000 for insurance.

"I don't mind paying ... most people do the same," Linawati added.

Amid the surge in calls for reform, a tout, who declined to be identified, said he was sure the police would not kick him out just because of the need to reform public services.

"We've been long in the business. If they kick us out of here (the license bureau), we can run our business from home," he said.

"I still have some 'friends' at the license bureau anyway," he added, referring to "bad officers" involved in the business.

Reports claim that most of the extra money gained from applicants is equally distributed among officials in charge of different booths.

With the help of touts, there is no need for applicants to take any obligatory tests, including driving tests, or to go through the tiresome procedures. All they have to do is simply wait, get their picture taken and wait for their license to be printed.

But not all people can afford to pay extra just to obtain their drivers' license or identity cards.

Applicants with little money sometimes have no way of avoiding the procedures and should also be prepared to be ignored.

"I heard that the bureau is equipped with computers. So, it's hard to understand why I have to wait for hours just to get my license renewed," complained Suhardji, who has queued for over three hours.

Not difficult

Amid all these charges, officials say the procedures to get both identity cards and drivers' licenses are not as difficult as reported, as long as one is willing to follow procedures and complete all the necessary forms.

"Unfortunately, many people tend to seek help from a third party... Or the documents are incomplete or inaccurate... As a result, the card has to be reprocessed and its completion takes longer than it should," deputy governor of administration affairs Abdul Kahfi said.

But he admits there is still a need to improve his officials' attitudes and skills.

"Supervision of officials in charge of giving services to the public should be improved. Fees should be adjusted as regulated," Kahfi said.

When asked whether it was possible for identity cards to be valid for more than three years, or to have one for a lifetime, he said the present situation made it impossible.

"People's legal awareness is still low... and it's hard to control people's mobility," he said.

For residents, an identity card is important as legal evidence of one's identity and for security, while the administration needs to know residents' whereabouts, the size of the local population and to raise locally generated revenue.

Under the present regulation, identity cards have to be renewed every three years. Only those over 60 years old are issued cards to last the remainder of their lives.

Jakarta Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang also pointed out the need for each driver to have his/her license renewed every five years.

"A driver's license proves that a driver is capable of driving and will not endanger others, or disturb traffic," he said.

Licenses, he said, also help officers in investigating accidents.

But he declined to comment on the misuse of procedures for the processing of new driver's license or their renewal by "bad" officers who are after personal profit, or the widespread practice of touts. "I don't know about that... let Mabes (the national police headquarters) explain," Aritonang said.

He blamed people's "super busy" lifestyles for hampering the police in providing good services.

"People want to process everything fast and even use touts' services. When they find a problem, they blame it on the police, even though they don't follow procedures themselves," Aritonang said.

Sociologist Sardjono Jatiman says people have tired of the state of public services and feel it is time to reform.

"People have been waiting long enough for better public services. But the main question lies with the bureaucrats. Are they willing to reform public services?" he asked.

Many high-ranking officials, he says, are reluctant to become regular people. "Are there any ministers who apply for their own identity cards?"

People, he says, are willing to follow procedures as long as officials are consistent in implementing regulations.

For instance, he says, people are willing to line up in banks because of the banks' consistency. "Banks serve those who come first," Sardjono said.

If the city wants to raise money from processing identity cards or driver's licenses, he says he is certain that people would not mind paying for it as long as "it's legal and the service is good."

As public servants, he says, officials should not complicate procedures. "But what happens now is that if they can complicate procedures, why make it simple?"

Aside from improving public services, he has also urged the government to improve officials' salaries, to prevent them from abusing their power.