Governor vows protection of whistle-blowers

Governor vows protection of whistle-blowers

JAKARTA (JP): Governor Surjadi Soedirdja said yesterday that
he would protect anyone who disclosed the identity of any city
officials who are abusing their power or collecting illegal
levies for public services.

However, the governor said the reports should be supported by
clear-cut evidence which could be used to prove that officials
are guilty of the charges.

"Those who report such irregularities to mayors or directly to
me will be protected, provided that they have concrete proof of
the officials' wrongdoing," Surjadi said during a weekly
inspection to Kenari, Central Jakarta.

"Some (city officials) must have intentionally abused their
power for their own interests although they know the law,"
Surjadi said. He added that residents of the subdistrict, most of
whom are civil servants, should heed this warning.

Earlier, City Hall spokesman Soesila Darmoadji gave assurances
that anyone who reported violations to the city administration
would be dealt with on a confidential basis.

However, Surjadi warned those who intended to send in reports
regarding irregularities should not dramatize their accounts.

"If, for instance, you were charged Rp 1 higher than the
normal fee, don't exaggerate it and say that you were asked Rp 10
higher," Surjadi said.

The governor also asked city residents who spotted any
violations committed by city officials to only speak to
responsible parties, otherwise there was a good chance that their
reports would be exaggerated.

Exaggerative report

Speaking of exaggeration, Surjadi said that a recent headline
of a Jakarta-based newspaper was one that suffered from over-
embellishment.

The newspaper reported that the governor leveled a challenge
against those who ignored city administration warnings and kept
building houses without building permits.

"I didn't say I challenge them to a `tug-of-war,'" Surjadi
said.

"What I said was anyone who gave financial backing to those
who built houses without permits should be ashamed of themselves
and I urged them to halt the construction work," he said.

"I also said that we must keep on enforcing regulations and
laws and take action against the violators, irrespective of
whether they were backed or not," Surjadi said.

The newspaper exaggerated that statement, apparently for the
purpose of increasing its sales, he added.

Reports on red-tape and illegal levies resurfaced last Friday
after West Jakarta Mayor Sutardjianto said that he had suspended
a ranking official of the mayoralty Development Supervision
Office because he was found guilty of collecting extra money from
residents who came to his office to get building permits.

Kompas daily reported officials of the city Development
Supervision Office were charging inflated rates for people
applying for building permits. Allegedly, they have made the fees
tens of times higher than the official rates. (arf)