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)