Governor being deprived of malfeasance reports

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Sutiyoso regretted on Monday the reluctance of many of his subordinates to report malfeasance cases in their offices to him.

"I am a bit surprised that you (reporters) frequently ask me about various bad things taking place in the city administration, while from my subordinates I don't receive any reports at all," he said.

Sutiyoso's comment came in response to reporters' questions about parking fees, most of which are still far higher than the official Rp 300 set by the administration despite his instruction to his subordinates to end the practice.

"I used to think that if my subordinates did not report anything to me after I instructed them to get rid of something, it meant everything was all right and everything was running as well as expected.

"The reality, however, is completely to the contrary to what I thought, as the bad things were left just the way they were."

The governor admitted that he often first learned about deviations in the administration from the mass media.

"After that I summon the officials in charge of the related offices. As they promised to handle the cases thoroughly, I believed the problems had been solved."

The governor said he would intensify the summoning of his officials whose offices were rife with malfeasance practices.

He ruled out formally punishing officials found neglecting their obligations. "By repeatedly summoning them, I think the officials will feel of being punished."

A member of the United Development Party faction of the City Council, Saud Rahman, said Sutiyoso's remarks were only to be expected.

"It's not surprising as the administration's employees are notorious for their very limited amount of work."

Saud said that ideally officials should keep the governor well-informed about the happenings in the administration.

"They should have 'sharp eyes and noses' to know the wrongdoings in their offices and be brave enough to inform the governor about them," he said.

It is becoming increasingly common to see city employees reading newspapers or magazines, watching television or chatting during working hours in their offices.

Some even find time to play table tennis during the day. (ind)