Fear of Being Labelled as Frequent Holiday-Takers, Penajam Paser Utara Rejects WFH
The Regent of Penajam Paser Utara (PPU), East Kalimantan, Mudyat Noor, has emphasised that the local government will not yet implement the Work From Home (WFH) policy for civil servants (ASN) every Friday. This policy is deemed to have the potential to disrupt direct services to the public.
According to Mudyat, the nature of services in the region differs from central or provincial government agencies, so the implementation of WFH needs to be carefully considered.
“If WFH is implemented in a region like PPU Regency, it might be different because we deal directly with the public. We must not let it be said that ASN receive large salaries but take too many holidays, even if working from home,” he stressed on Saturday (4/4) to Media Indonesia.
He explained that the implementation of WFH in the PPU Regency Government environment will still be studied further. This is because local government apparatus carry out public services directly and intensively to the community.
“Yes, we will study it first, because in the regions, the service process to the public is done directly face-to-face. Of course, it’s different from the centre and provinces, which are more about coordination and administration,” he said.
Mudyat assessed that this condition is also experienced by several other regencies and cities that have not implemented WFH due to fears that it could reduce the optimisation of public services.
“Like other regions, we will study which sectors can implement the government’s policy in accordance with the Minister of Home Affairs’ Circular Number 800.1.5/3349/SJ on the Transformation of ASN Work Culture in the Local Government Environment and the Minister of PANRB’s Circular Number 3 of 2026 on the Implementation of Official Duties for ASN in Government Agencies,” he revealed.
An ASN from the PPU Regency Government, Ari, assessed that the WFH policy is not necessarily effective because it has the potential to affect performance and supervision of service implementation to the public.
“I am worried that ASN performance will not run maximally and supervision will become suboptimal if WFH is implemented, even if only every Friday,” he explained.
He is also pessimistic that community programmes can run according to targets if the policy is forced.
“We are actually confused; if working from home, it has to be like what, and does it guarantee that work runs effectively,” said Ari.
According to him, the reason for implementing WFH to save operational budgets is considered less appropriate. This is because the PPU Regency Government has so far carried out efficiency in employee and office operational spending.
In addition, the conditions in the PPU region are considered different from big cities that have supporting facilities for remote work. In some areas, facilities are still limited, so the direct presence of ASN is still needed by the public.
“We have to reach the public in remote areas to provide services. Of course, it’s difficult to save on fuel because it is an operational need for ASN work,” he stressed.
In agreement, another PPU Regency Government employee, Yanti, assessed that implementing WFH is less appropriate in the region. She even worries that the policy would actually reduce ASN work discipline.
“It’s common knowledge that there are employees who often come late. There are also those who, after clocking in, leave and only return to clock out. If working from home, I am pessimistic that ASN can perform maximally,” she said.
She added that ASN in the PPU Regency Government environment are accustomed to a five-day work pattern, so implementing a new system requires adjustment, especially in services and work supervision.
“For ASN who provide direct services like health and population affairs, they are used to still working even if other sectors are off. But for the education sector, it will certainly impact students,” she concluded.