Free ID cards soon

JAKARTA (JP): City officials are prepared to carry out the free identity card renewal scheme immediately after City Council endorses the policy, Governor Sutiyoso said on Tuesday.

"The free ID card scheme has been one of my commitments to improve public services. When I get the council's letter of recommendation, we will implement it on the same day," Sutiyoso told reporters while visiting Semper Timur in North Jakarta.

As soon as the council approves the scheme, the officials in charge will start renewing IDs for Jakartans free of charge.

The City Council approved the scheme on Monday, announcing that it would issue its recommendation to legalize the plan while waiting the possible enactment of a bylaw on the matter.

Currently, people applying for ID cards in the capital are governed by two regulations, City Bylaw No. 1/1996 on population administration and City Bylaw No. 3/1999 on city levies.

Sutiyoso, after his accountability speech was rejected by the City Council in July, vowed to provide free ID card renewal as the city administration only receives Rp 1.75 billion (US$188,172) annually from the service.

He pledged to extend the validity period for ID cards from the current three years to five years.

Along with the decision, the city administration vowed to impose harsher penalties than currently in place for residents who failed to renew their cards on time and to monitor the process of obtaining cards to prevent any possible abuse of the system by foreigners. (dja)