Farhan Assures WFH Will Not Disrupt Public Services in Bandung City

Bandung Mayor Muhammad Farhan has assured that the work-from-home (WFH) policy for civil servants (ASN) will not disrupt the quality of public services in Bandung City. He emphasised that this work scheme is only intended for ASN whose duties do not directly involve public services.

Meanwhile, ASN working in agencies that directly interact with the public are still required to work physically in the office. “ASN who are directly involved in public services will still be in the office. So, places like the public service mall (MPP), community health centres, health services, and even schools will not use remote systems,” Farhan said in Bandung on Thursday (2/4).

To ensure productivity, Farhan explained that all ASN implementing WFH have been provided with adequate devices and digital attendance systems. Supervision is also carried out in stages and strictly.

“Everyone has been equipped with systems for clocking in and will be directly supervised by their respective superiors,” he said. Unlike operational staff, Farhan requires all leadership ranks to remain physically present at the office.

This is deemed important to directly monitor the public service situation. Interestingly, Farhan has also initiated a cycling-to-work movement every Friday together with members of the regional leadership communication forum (Forkopimda).

Although not yet mandatory for all employees, he wants to test the effectiveness of using bicycles as a mode of transport to the office. “All leaders must still work physically because we need to control all situations. But for Fridays, I have made an agreement with Forkopimda to commute by bicycle,” he explained.

In response to concerns from ASN whose homes are quite far for cycling, Farhan instead provided motivation from a health perspective. “Some asked if their homes are far, should they still use bicycles? I said yes, it’s even healthier,” he said.